Molde Municipality

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Molde Municipality (Template:IPA) is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Molde which is also the administrative centre of Møre og Romsdal county, the commercial hub of the Romsdal region, and the seat of the Diocese of Møre. Other main population centres in the municipality include the villages of Hjelset, Kleive, Nesjestranda, Midsund, Nord-Heggdal, Eidsvåg, Raudsand, Boggestranda, Myklebostad, Eresfjord, and Eikesdalen.

The Template:Convert municipality is the 56th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Molde is the 32nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 32,816. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has increased by 5.6% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

Molde has a maritime, temperate climate, with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters. The city of Molde is nicknamed The City of Roses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Molde is a centre for Norwegian textile and garment industry as well as a major tourist destination.

Molde was originally the name of a farm by a natural harbour, which grew into a timber trading port in the late 16th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Formal trading rights were introduced before 1604,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> and the town was incorporated as a kjøpstad through a royal charter in 1742. The town of Molde was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law) and over the years, the municipality has grown significantly in area such that the municipality is now vastly larger than the urban city of Molde.

History

The town of Molde was established as an urban municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It was surrounded by the rural Bolsøy Municipality. On 1 July 1915, a part of Bolsøy Municipality (population: 183) was transferred into the city of Molde. On 1 January 1952, another part of Bolsøy Municipality (population: 1,913) was transferred into the city of Molde.<ref name="Dag">Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Molde (town) (population: 8,289) merged with the Sekken, Veøya, and Nesjestranda parts of Veøy Municipality (population: 756), all of Bolsøy Municipality (population: 7,996), and the Mordal area of Nord-Aukra Municipality (population: 77) to form a new, larger Molde Municipality.<ref name="Dag" />

On 1 January 2020, the neighbouring Midsund Municipality and Nesset Municipality merged with Molde to form a much larger Molde Municipality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 29 June 1742. The informal blazon is "a water spouting whale, which drives a barrel in front of itself" (Template:Langx). The arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a whale and barrel floating on the ocean waves. It also has a mural crown above the escutcheon since the municipality includes a town. The exact design of the coat of arms is not formally depicted in law, so it has varied some over the centuries. The arms symbolize a whale chasing herring into a barrel, based on an old myth that the whales (guided by God) chased the schools of herring into the fjords at certain times. It also portrays the city's founding industries of herring fisheries and timber exports. Molde was never a whaling port, but the unusually bountiful fisheries in the early 1740s alleviated the city's suffering during a major famine. The sighting of whales, usually pods of orca, was commonly held to be the start of the spring herring fisheries. The municipal flag is a white flag with the coat of arms in the centre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Moldesangen (Template:Lit) is the semi-official anthem. It was written by Palle Godtfred Olaus Dørum (1818–1886) and composed by Karl Groos (1789–1861), supposedly in 1818, and is the same tune used the anthem of the German federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Geography

Molde Municipality includes part of the Romsdal peninsula as well as many islands including the islands of Otrøya and Midøya. To the southeast, Molde Municipality stretches about Template:Convert inland. The town of Molde consists of a Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide strip of urban land running east–west along the north shore of the Moldefjord, an arm of the Romsdalsfjord, on the Romsdal peninsula. The city is sheltered by Bolsøya and the Molde archipelago, a chain of low-lying islands and islets, to the south, and the wood-clad hills of Moldemarka to the north. The city centre is located just west of the river Moldeelva, which runs into the city from the north, originating in the Moldevatnet lake, through the valley Moldedalen. Despite the river being minor and seasonal, it supported several sawmills in the 16th and 17th centuries. This gave rise to the original town itself through a combination of a good harbour, proximity to the sea routes, vast timber resources, and a river capable of supporting mills. In 1909, the river housed the first hydro electric power plant capable of providing sufficient electricity for the city, and the upper reaches of the river still provide drinking water for most of the city.

The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Kleneggen.<ref name="elev" /> Its panoramic view of some 222 partly snow-clad peaks, usually referred to as the Molde panorama, is one of Molde's main attractions, and has drawn tourists to the city since the 19th century. Molde is nicknamed the Town of Roses, a name which originated during Molde's era as a tourist destination of international fame in the late 19th century.

Neighbouring municipalities are Aukra, Gjemnes, and Hustadvika (to the north); Ålesund (to the southwest); Vestnes and Rauma (to the south); and Tingvoll and Sunndal (to the east).

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Government

Molde 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 encyclopedia</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Møre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

Mayors

The mayor (Template:Langx) of Molde 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 web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

1837–1838: C.B. Brinchmann
1839–1839: J.S. Sommerschield
1840–1840: C.B. Brinchmann
1841–1841: Bastian Width
1842–1842: Edvard Kraft
1843–1844: K.A. Bjørseth
1845–1845: Claus S. Jervell
1846–1846: K.A. Bjørseth
1847–1847: Johan Olivarius Horn
1848–1848: Claus S. Jervell
1849–1850: Johan Olivarius Horn
1851–1853: Isach Georg Dass
1854–1854: Christen Smith
1855–1855: Johan Olivarius Horn
1856–1856: Claus S. Jervell
1857–1857: Johan Olivarius Horn
1858–1858: Gunder Paulsen
1859–1859: Andreas Lind
1860–1860: Gunder Paulsen
1861–1861: Andreas Lind
1862–1862: Henrik L. Sommerschield
1863–1864: Thorvald Johannes Owren
1865–1865: Isach Georg Dass
1866–1866: Ludvig Arnoldus Leth
1867–1867: Gunder Paulsen
1868–1869: Ludvig Arnoldus Leth
1870–1870: Fredrik Christian Sand
1871–1874: K.F. Feilberg
1875–1876: Ferdinand Nicolai Roll
1877–1877: Henrik L. Sommerschield
1878–1878: Johan B. Ræstad
1879–1883: Tobias Annæus Owren
1884–1886: Ludvig Arnoldus Leth
1887–1888: Ferdinand Nicolai Roll
1888–1890: J.L.W. Dietrichson
1891–1891: Ludvig Arnoldus Leth
1892–1892: J.L.W. Dietrichson
1893–1893: O. Berg
1894–1895: J.L.W. Dietrichson
1896–1899: Albert Dessen
1900–1902: Lars Nøsen
1903–1904: Birger Stuevold-Hansen
1905–1907: Ulrich Møller
1908–1910: Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg
1911–1913: Lars Jacobsen
1914–1916: Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg
1917–1922: Anton Holm
1923–1925: Kristian Nøsen
1926–1927: Nils B. Elvsaas (V)
1928–1930: Hans Jakob Sparre Schneider
1931–1934: Ole Sivertsen Nås (V)
1935–1937: Oscar Hanssen (H)
1938–1940: Ole Sivertsen Nås (V)
1941–1945: Hans Jakob Sparre Schneider (NS)
1945–1945: Ole Sivertsen Nås (V)
1946–1946: Nils B. Elvsaas (V)
1947–1947: O. Aasgård (Ap)
1948–1950: Nils B. Elvsaas (V)
1951–1955: Asgaut Bore (V)
1956–1959: Kåre Stokkeland (Ap)
1960–1961: Petter Pettersson (H)
1962–1965: Johan Skipnes (KrF)
1966–1969: Petter Pettersson (H)
1970–1971: Olav Askvik (V)
1972–1973: Johan Skipnes (KrF)
1972–1973: Petter Pettersson (H)
1974–1977: Wilhelm Wilkens (Sp)
1978–1979: Asmund Fredly (KrF)
1980–1981: Bernt Vilnes (H)
1982–1983: Asmund Fredly (KrF)
1984–1985: Rolf Myhre (KrF)
1986–1989: Ragnar Heggdal (H)
1990–1993: Rolf Myhre (KrF)
1994–1998: Einar Øveraas (H)
1998–2003: Rolf Myhre (KrF)
2003–2011: Jan Petter Hammerø (H)
2011–2023: Torgeir Dahl (H)
2023–present: Trygve Grydeland (H)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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Twin towns — sister cities

Molde has three sister cities. They are:<ref name="sister">Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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External links

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