The 641-square-kilometre (247 sq mi) municipality is the 179th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Aure is the 218th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,381. The municipality's population density is 5.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (14/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 5.3% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1894, the southern district of Aure (population: 942) was separated to form the new municipality of Valsøyfjord. Then on 1 July 1914, the northeastern district of Aure (population: 851) was separated to form the new municipality of Stemshaug.[6]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Aure farm (Old Norse: Aurar) since the first Aure Church was built there. The name is the plural form of aurr which means "gravel" or "mud".[7]
Coat of arms
The original coat of arms was granted on 22 March 1991 and it was in use until 1 January 2006 when Aure was merged with Tustna municipality to form a new, larger Aure municipality. The official blazon is "Gules, two addorsed eagle heads erasedOr" (Norwegian: I rødt to adosserte gull ørnehoder). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two heads of a sea eagle facing opposite directions. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The design was chosen since there is a large population of these birds in the municipality. The arms were designed by Even Skoglund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[8][9][10]
A new coat of arms was granted on 21 December 2005, just before the merger of the municipalities of Tustna and Aure so that it could be used starting on 1 January 2006 when the two municipalities were merged. It was decided to combine the arms of the two municipalities by using the charge from the old arms of Tustna and the colors from the old arms of Aure. The official blazon is "Azure, a klippfiskargent" (Norwegian: I blått en sølv klippfisk). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a klippfisk which is a split and salted dried fish, usually cod. Traditionally, the fish was spread out on a rock to sun dry which gives the klippfisk its symmetrical shape (as opposed to the stockfish). The charge 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 design was chosen since the klippfisk industry was pioneered in the Tustna area starting in the 1690s. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[8][9][11]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Aure is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.