Ørsta Municipality
Template:Short description Template:Infobox kommune
Template:Audio is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta. Other villages in the municipality include Barstadvik, Flåskjer, Follestaddalen, Hovdebygda, Liadal, Nordre Vartdal, Store-Standal, Sæbø, Trandal, Urke, Vartdal, Ytre-Standal, Åmdalen, and Årset.
The Template:Convert municipality is the 171st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Ørsta Municipality is the 106th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,958. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has increased by 4% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>
General information
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The municipality of Ørsta was established on 1 August 1883 when it was separated from the large Volda Municipality. The initial population was 2,070. On 1 January 1893, the Ytrestølen farm (population: 13) was transferred from Ørsta Municipality to Volda Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Ørsta Municipality (population: 6,209) was merged with Hjørundfjord Municipality (population: 1,728) and Vartdal Municipality (population: 1,315) to form a new, larger Ørsta Municipality.<ref name="Dag">Template:Cite book</ref> On 1 January 2020, the Bjørke and Leira areas of Ørsta Municipality were transferred to the neighboring Volda Municipality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Name
[edit]The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Ørstafjorden (Template:Langx). The meaning of the fjord name is uncertain, but it may come from the word Template:Wikt-lang which means "raging" or "mad" (possibly referring to the water in the fjord).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Ørsten. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Ørsta.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Coat of arms
[edit]The coat of arms was granted on 13 July 1984. The official blazon is "Azure, three fusils in fess argent" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three fusils lined up horizontally. 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 three diamonds represent the mountains reflecting in the waters of the fjord. The arms were designed by Gudmund Nesset. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Museums
[edit]The Brudavoll Farm, part of the Sunnmøre Museum Foundation, is located about Template:Convert from the village of Ørsta.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Churches
[edit]The Church of Norway has three parishes (Template:Lang) within Ørsta Municipality. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Parish (Template:Lang) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ørsta | Ørsta Church | Ørsta | 1864 |
| Vartdal | Vartdal Church | Nordre Vartdal | 1876 |
| Hjørundfjord | Hjørundfjord Church | Sæbø | 1880 |
Geography
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Of the total area, 48% (Template:Convert) of the municipality is at an altitude of Template:Convert or more above sea level.
Apart from the mountains, Ørsta's dominant geographical feature is fjords: Storfjorden in the north, Vartdalsfjorden, Ørstafjorden in the west, and Hjørundfjorden in the east. Volda Municipality lies to the south, Hareid Municipality and Ulstein Municipality are both across the fjord to the northwest, Sula Municipality lies across the fjord to the north, Sykkylven Municipality lies to the northeast, and Stranda Municipality lies to the southeast.
The municipality is also the heartland of the Sunnmørsalpene mountains, a particularly rugged and wild area of mountains in the southern part of Møre og Romsdal county. The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Smørskredtindane.<ref name="elev" /> Other prolific peaks include Slogen at Template:Convert, Skårasalen at Template:Convert, Kolåstinden at Template:Convert, Ramoen at Template:Convert, Saudehornet at Template:Convert, and Romedalstinden at Template:Convert.
Economy
[edit]Important sectors are mechanical industry and furniture manufacturing, agriculture, commercial fishing, and aquaculture. The first two are predominant in the village of Ørsta while agriculture dominates in adjacent valleys like the Follestaddalen, Åmdalen, and Bondalen valleys. On the other hand, the northern part of the municipality has strong maritime traditions, with Vartdal being the home of one of the largest factory trawler fleets in Norway.
Government
[edit]Ørsta 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.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite SNL</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Møre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
[edit]The municipal council (Template:Lang) of Ørsta Municipality is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. Template:Div col Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Div col end
Mayors
[edit]The mayor (Template:Langx) of Ørsta 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:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col
- 1883–1885: Hans A. Velle
- 1886–1893: Sivert Nossen
- 1894–1901: Jon I. Skare
- 1902–1910: Lars A. Rebbestad
- 1911–1916: Peder A. Moe
- 1917–1934: Laurits N. Myklebust
- 1935–1941: Otto N. Øye
- 1941–1945: Hans Brungot
- 1945–1945: Otto N. Øye
- 1946–1951: Peter Kjeldseth Moe (Ap)
- 1952–1955: Martin B. Moe (V)
- 1956–1959: Ragnar Unhjem (KrF)
- 1960–1967: Pål Sandvik (V)
- 1968–1973: Jakob E. Øye (Sp)
- 1974–1979: Karsten Standal (Sp)
- 1980–1983: Oddmund Breiteig (Ap)
- 1984–1991: Sigbjørn Kvistad (KrF)
- 1992–2003: Nils Taklo (Sp)
- 2003–2007: Hans Olav Myklebust (FrP)
- 2007–2011: Gudny Fagerhol (Ap)
- 2011–2015: Rune Hovde (H)
- 2015–2023: Stein Aam (Sp)
- 2023–present: Per Are Sørheim (H)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Transportation
[edit]Ørsta–Volda Airport (in Hovdebygda) is the regional airport for people living in the municipalities of Ørsta, Volda, Vanylven, Sande, Ulstein, Hareid, and Herøy. European Route E39 transects the municipality in a north–south direction. Ørsta Municipality is linked to Sula Municipality and Sykkylven Municipality by a ferry at Festøy, the northernmost point in Ørsta. It is also linked to Ulstein Municipality (and Hareid, Herøy, and Sande municipalities) by the Eiksund Tunnel, an undersea tunnel that opened on 23 February 2008 that is, currently, the world's deepest at Template:Convert below the sea surface.
Notable people
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- Ivar Aasen (1813–1896), a Norwegian language philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet.<ref>Template:Cite EB1911</ref>
- Anders Hovden (1860–1943), a Church of Norway clergyman, hymnwriter, poet, and author
- Njål Hole Template:Post nominals (1914–1988), a chemical engineer and nuclear physicist
- Torbjørn Digernes (born 1947), a physicist and professor of marine systems design
- Kari Sørbø (born 1955), a radio personality who was brought up in Ørsta
- Eldar Sætre (born 1956), a businessman and CEO of Equinor
- Bjarte Engeset (born 1958), a classical conductor
- Odd Magne Gridseth (1959–2025), a jazz musician and composer
- Yngve Sætre (born 1962), a record producer, musician on vocals, and keyboard
- Marit Velle Kile (born 1978), an actress in film and on TV <ref>Template:IMDb name. Retrieved 06 December 2020.</ref>
- Audun Ellingsen (born 1979), a jazz musician who plays upright bass
- Torgeir Standal (born 1990), a jazz guitarist
- Vassendgutane (formed 1996), a band that plays country and danseband music
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Template:In lang
- Official site of Ørsta Tourist Board
- Template:Official site Template:In lang
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