Prior to its dissolution in 2012, the 219-square-kilometre (85 sq mi) municipality was the 320th largest by area out of the 430 municipalities in Norway. Mosvik Municipality was the th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 811. The municipality's population density was 3.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.6/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 12.9% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
Until 1991, the connection from Mosvik Municipality to the rest of the Innherred region was only available by a car ferry, at first via Ytterøya to Levanger, but later directly to Inderøy Municipality on the Vangshylla–Kjerringvik Ferry route. In 1991, the Skarnsund Bridge on Norwegian County Road 755 was completed, eliminating the need for a ferry across the Skarnsundet strait.[5] The Skarnsund bridge was opened by King Harald V on 19 December 1991, after he had taken the last ferry across the fjord. A monument, the King's Stone, bearing the signature of the king, is located at the resting place on the Mosvik side.
Map of Mosvik, showing the northern area that used to be part of Verran Municipality prior to 1968View of Venneshamn, seen from the Skarnsundet
The municipality of Mosvik was established on 1 January 1901 when the old Mosvik og Verran Municipality was divided into two new municipalities: Mosvik Municipality (population: 969) in the southeast and Verran Municipality (population: 1,456) in the north and west.[8]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal changes across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1968, the Framverran area on the south side of the Verrasundet strait (population: 395) was transferred from Verran Municipality to Mosvik Municipality.[8]
On 1 January 2012, Mosvik Municipality ceased to exist when it was merged into the neighboring Inderøy Municipality. Prior to the merger, Mosvik Municipality had 811 residents.[5]
Name
The municipality was named Mosvik (Old Norse: Masarvík) since the first Mosvik Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Mǫs (now called the Mossa river). The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is vík which means "inlet" or "cove".[9] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Mosviken. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Mosvik, removing the definite form ending -en.[10]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 13 July 1984 and it was in use until 1 January 2012 when it became part of Inderøy Municipality. The official blazon is "Argent, two piles throughout reversed vert" (Norwegian: I sølv to grønne spisser). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is a two green triangles pointing upwards. The design was chosen to symbolize the forests and trees in the municipality as well as to look like the letter M, the initial of the municipality. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[11][12][13]
The municipality was located south of the Skarnsundet strait with the main Trondheimsfjord to the east and the Verrasundet strait to the west. Leksvik Municipality was located to the southwest, Verran Municipality was located to the north, and Inderøy Municipality was located to the east (across the strait). The lake Meltingvatnet lies along the municipal border with Leksvik. The highest point in the municipality is the 502.45-metre (1,648.5 ft) tall mountain Storknuken.[1]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Mosvik was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Mosvik was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:[31]
