Ørland is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. Ørland Municipality is located at the southwestern tip of the Fosen peninsula at the northern shore of the mouth of Trondheimsfjord where the Stjørnfjorden arm begins. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bjugn. Other larger settlements in Ørland include the town of Brekstad and the villages of Uthaug, Opphaug, Ottersbo, Høybakken, Jøssund, Lysøysundet, Nes, Oksvoll, and Vallersund.
The municipality is the 218th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Ørland Municipality is the 110th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,522. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.6% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The municipality of Ørland was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1853, the northern part of the municipality was separated to become the new Bjugn Municipality. This left Ørland with 3,361 residents. On 1 January 1896, the southern district of the municipality was separated from Ørland to become the new Værnes Municipality. After the division, Ørland had 3,649 residents and it was just a fraction of its original size.
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
On 1 January 2020, Ørland Municipality and Bjugn Municipality merged to form a new, larger Ørland Municipality. At the same time, the administrative centre of the newly enlarged Ørland was moved from Brekstad to the village of Bjugn.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named "Ørland" (). The first element of the current name is which is a plural form of which means "gravel". During the 16th century, the suffix (which means "land") was added. In 1590, the name was spelled , and by the 1700s, the name was standardized to Ørlandet. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Ørland, removing the definite form ending -et.
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 9 February 1979. The official blazon is "Party per bend sinister argent and sable" (). This means the arms have a field (background) that is divided diagonally from the bottom left to the top right. The left side of the line 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 right side of the line has a tincture of black. The design is derived from the historic coat of arms of Inger, Lady of Austraat, a noblewoman from the Rømer family who lived at the Austrått manor in Ørland from 1488 to 1555. She played a major role in the history of the area. She was later portrayed by Henrik Ibsen in his play Lady Inger of Ostrat. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The Church of Norway has four parishes () within Ørland Municipality. It is part of the Fosen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Churches in Ørland MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtBjugnBjugn Churchwest of Bjugn1956Hegvik ChurchHøybakken1858JøssundJøssund ChurchJøssund1875NesNes ChurchNes1878Tarva ChapelNordbuen, Tarva1972ØrlandØrland ChurchBrekstad1342Storfosna ChurchStorfosna1915
Geography
Ørland is on the Norwegian mainland, situated on the northern shore of the mouth of the Trondheimsfjord, and is largely flat lowland. Ørland faces the Norwegian Sea to the west with Trondheimsfjord and the mouth of the Stjørnfjord to the east. Ørland's topography differs markedly from most other areas in Norway. Only 2% of the municipality exceeds an altitude of above sea level. Ørland consists of wide open spaces mainly used by Norway's Ørland Main Air Station, agriculture, nature conservation areas and residential neighborhoods. The municipality also includes three inhabited islands (Garten, Kråkvåg and Storfosna) as well as many islets. The Kjeungskjær lighthouse lies at the mouth of the Bjugnfjorden in the northeastern part of the municipality.
The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Seksortklumpen. Fosenheia, a peak south of Storfosna, is also highly visible in the landscape. The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Ørland has four Ramsar areas: Grandefjæra nature conservancy, and the wildlife protection areas of Hovsfjæra, Innstrandfjæra, and Kråkvågsvaet, all of which are significant for seabirds, wading birds and migratory birds. The area around Rusasetvatnet is important for bird life. Austråttlunden landscape conservancy also has protected status.
Climate
Ørland has a very mild climate for the latitude, albeit at times windy. Ørland is one of the northernmost locations to have a mild enough winter and long enough summer to fulfill all criteria as a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). The all-time high is recorded 17 July 2025. The warmest month on record is July 2025 with mean and average daily high . The all-time low is recorded February 1958, and the coldest low after 2000 is from February 2010. The coldest month on record is February 1966 with mean and average daily low . The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 27 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 21 October (1981–2010 average) giving a frost-free season of 176 days. The prevailing wind direction is from the southwest, a wind sometimes accompanied by precipitation. Snow rarely remains after 3–4 days in the town Brekstad and other coastal areas of the municipality. However, in the eastern parts of the municipality the snow remains longer making possible skiing and other winter activities at the lighted track near the Yrjar ski cabin. The weather station is located at Ørland Main Air Station.
Government Ørland Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.
Both Ørland and Bjugn joined the inter-municipal waste management agency Fosen Renovasjon when it was founded in 1997, and it carried over operations with the municipal merger. Municipal council The municipal council () of Ørland Municipality is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Ørland Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:
1838–1841: Augustinius Gaarder 1842–1845: Rasmus Gaarder 1846–1849: Eiler Hagerup Nannestad 1850–1853: Rasmus Gaarder 1854–1857: Eiler Hagerup Nannestad 1857–1859: Jacob C. Uthaug 1860–1864: Johan Nicolai Franzen 1865–1865: Johan Arnt Vik 1866–1869: Jonas Angell 1870–1877: Ole Wiggen 1878–1879: Carl Grann 1880–1881: Hans Aage Uthaug 1882–1916: Jakob T. Hoff (V) 1917–1928: Peder Næsset (Bp) 1929–1934: Per J. Gjelvold (Bp) 1935–1940: Leiv Aas (V) 1941–1945: Harald A. Dahl (Bp/NS) 1945–1951: Leiv Aas (V) 1952–1963: Akim Murvold (Sp) 1964–1969: Johan Bakken (Sp) 1970–1973: Alf Bjørkum (V) 1974–1975: Leif Johan Lyngstad (H) 1976–1983: Oddbjørn Hågård (Sp) 1984–1987: Einar Løkra (Sp) 1988–1989: Turid Skogstad (Ap) 1990–1997: Oddvar Hoøen (Sp) 1997–1999: Hallgeir Grøntvedt (Sp) 1999–2003: Knut Ring (Ap) 2003–2015: Hallgeir Grøntvedt (Sp) 2015–2022: Tom Myrvold (H) 2022–2023: Ogne Undertun (Ap) 2023–present: Hallgeir Grøntvedt (Sp)
Economy Major occupations are the Ørland Air Base, part of the Royal Norwegian Air Force; agriculture; industry, public services; and commerce.
The largest employer of the Fosen peninsula is the military air force base located in Ørland municipality. In 2013 about 650 employees and 254 drafted soldiers worked at the base. With the upgrade of the base it is estimated that the base will have 1070 employees and 565 drafted soldiers in 2020. Ørland Air Base is currently one of two main air force bases in Norway. The Norwegian parliament decided in 2012 to concentrate most of fighter planes at one base: Ørland. The base is currently in the process of upgrading to be able to operate Norway's new fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Fifty-two planes are to be acquired from Lockheed Martin, most of which will be stationed in Ørland. Ørland is also operating Westland Sea King search and rescue helicopters as well as being a forward operations location of NATO's surveillance plane the E-3/AWACS. The Norwegian F-16 Immediate Reaction Force is stationed at Ørland along with support and administration.
Mascot Høie, established in 1986, is the largest industrial employer in the municipality. The company produces duvets, pillows, blankets duvet covers and bed linens. Headquarters are located in Brekstad, Ørland and employs about 100.
Grøntvedt Pelagic, established in 1988, employs around 100 and processes herring, mackerel and other pelagic species in their factories in Uthaug and Kråkvåg. The company is the world's largest producer of barrel-marinated herring.
In 2010, agriculture employed about 8% of the population of Ørland and the sector is dominating the landscape of Ørland. The most important products were milk, grain and meat. Ørland Cheese and Milk Factory closed its doors in 2011. Ørland Savings Bank was established in 1849, only 26 years after the first of its kind in Norway (in Christiania). The bank is an independent bank, but is part of Eika-Gruppen.
Ørland is a regional center for both shopping and business services. In the city of Brekstad shoppers can visit and enjoy several clothing stores, grocery stores, cafes, lumber, and hardware stores, goldsmiths, flower shop, convenience stores, sports stores, gift stores, restaurants, optometry store, health food store, drug store, Asian grocery store, bookshop, banks, office supply, pet supplies, paint store, art galleries, furniture store, bakeries, car dealers and liquor store. Business services like accountants, attorneys, banks, consultants, advertising agencies, office supplies, auditing, print shops, collection agency and office services are readily available.
Transportation and communication Passenger ferries run between Brekstad and Trondheim eight times each direction on weekdays (reduced service on weekends). This makes commuting convenient and many commute to and from Trondheim for work or studies on a daily basis. Several employees of the air force live outside of Ørland. There is a daily weekday average of about 900 passengers – 400 of which travels to or from Hitra/Frøya or Kristiansund.
Automobile ferry service connects Brekstad to Valset in Agdenes municipality. This connection is a part of Norwegian County Road 710 (Fv 710) from Orkanger to Krinsvatn. On weekdays the ferry departs every 30 minutes during rush hour; hourly the rest of the day.
Air Norway is an airline owned by Ørland municipality, Nordic Air AS and North Flying AS. The company operates direct flights between Ørland and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen as well continuation of flight to Aalborg, Denmark.