Tustna is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1874 until 2006 when it became part of the present-day Aure Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Gullstein. The municipality was located in Nordmøre and it included the main islands of Tustna, Stabblandet, and Solskjelsøya, as well as many smaller, surrounding islets between the Edøyfjorden and the Vinjefjorden.

Prior to its dissolution in 2006, the municipality was the 363rd largest by area out of the 433 municipalities in Norway. Tustna Municipality was the 411th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,006. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 11.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information The area of Tustna Municipality was originally a part of the large Edøy Municipality (see formannskapsdistrikt law). A meeting held on 17 March 1863 decided to build a church on the island of Tustern (which was the name of the island at that time) and thereby gain status as a separate parish within the large municipality. Gullstein Church was built in the village of Gullstein on the eastern side of the island in 1864. A royal resolution of 3 May 1873 directed that the parish of Tustern be separated from Edøy Municipality to create the new Tustern Municipality effective on 1 January 1874. The new municipality had an initial population of 1,179.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the part of Tustna Municipality on the island of Ertvågsøya (population: 85) was transferred to neighboring Aure Municipality to the east.

On 1 January 2006, Tustna Municipality (population: 1,006) was merged into Aure Municipality.

Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Tustna (the Old Norse form of the name may have been ), since it is the main island in the municipality. The name of the island was mentioned in historical records, as Toester, on a Dutch map from 1623. The name may be derived from the word which means "staff" or "walking stick". They could be referring to the form of one of the mountains on the island. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Tusteren. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Tustna.

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 7 October 1988. The official blazon is "Azure, a klippfisk Or" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a klippfisk (a split and salted dried fish, usually cod). 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 to symbolize the importance of the klippfisk industry which was pioneered in the Tustna area starting back in the 1690s. Traditionally the fish was spread out on rock to sun dry which gives the klippfisk its symmetrical shape (as opposed to the stockfish). The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Tustna Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Halsa prestegjeld and the Ytre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Churches in Tustna MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtTustnaGullstein ChurchGullstein1864Sør-Tustna ChapelTømmervåg1952

Geography The island municipality was located in Nordmøre. It included the main islands of Tustna, Stabblandet, and Solskjelsøya, as well as many smaller, surrounding islets between the Edøyfjorden and the Korsnesfjorden. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Innerbergsalen. Smøla Municipality was located to the north, Aure Municipality was to the east, Halsa Municipality and Tingvoll Municipality were to the south, and Kristiansund Municipality was to the west.

Government While it existed, Tustna Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council The municipal council of Tustna Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors The mayor () of Tustna Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:

1874–1875: Peder Trondsen Størseth 1876–1879: Jonas Moe Halse 1880–1913: Gjermund Trondsen Øvrevik 1914–1919: Ole P. Guldsten 1920–1923: Martinius P. Jørgenvåg 1923–1925: Sivert Madsen Follestad 1926–1934: Martinius P. Jørgenvåg 1935–1942: Edvard Øvrevik 1943–1945: Peder M. Jørgenvåg 1945–1947: Johannes H. Nordheim 1948–1951: Thorstein Hamnes 1951–1951: Peder J. Tømmervåg 1952–1959: Johan D. Tømmervåg 1960–1963: Martin Sæterøy 1964–1966: Trygve Høvik 1966–1967: Johan D. Tømmervåg 1968–1971: Magnar Guldstein 1972–1979: Martinius P. Jørgenvåg 1980–1983: Gjermund E. Øvrevik 1984–1987: Nils Hamnes 1988–1988: Jon P. Solheim 1992–1993: Hallvard Husby 1994–1999: Daniel Golmen 1999–2003: Hans G. Lauritzen (Ap) 2003–2005: Ingunn Oldervik Golmen (Sp)

See also List of former municipalities of Norway

References