Sandøy Municipality
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Sandøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The Template:Convert municipality existed from 1867 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now divided between Aukra Municipality and Ålesund Municipality on the border of the traditional districts of Romsdal and Sunnmøre. The administrative centre was the village of Steinshamn. Other villages included Ona and Myklebust.
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the Template:Convert municipality was the 416th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Sandøy Municipality was the 373rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,238. The municipality's population density was Template:Convert and its population had decreased by 5.3% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>
The municipality was spread out over many islands in the mouth of the vast Romsdal Fjord. The Flatflesa Lighthouse and Ona Lighthouse protect the boats traveling around the municipality. The Nordøy Fixed Link project was constructed from 2018 until 2023 and it included three undersea tunnels and several bridges that connected the main islands of Sandøy Municipality and the islands of Haram Municipality to the mainland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
General information
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The new Sandø Municipality was established on 1 January 1867 when the Akerø Municipality was divided into two: the western islands (population: 601) became the new Sandø Municipality and the eastern islands (population: 2,026). The spelling of the name was later changed to Sandøy Municipality.<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 1965, the Myklebust area on Harøya island and some smaller surrounding islands to the west (population: 287) were transferred from Haram Municipality to Sandøy Municipality.<ref name="Dag" />
On 1 January 2020, Sandøy Municipality was dissolved. The islands of Orta and Lyngværet (and the small surrounding islands) were merged into Aukra Municipality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The remainder of the old Sandøy Municipality was merged with Haram Municipality, Ørskog Municipality, Skodje Municipality, and Ålesund Municipality to form one large municipality of Ålesund.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Name
[edit]The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the farm and small island of Sandøya (Template:Langx) since the first Sandøy Church was built there. The first element comes from the word Template:Wikt-lang which means "sand". The last element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "island".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Sandøen or Sandø. The municipality was also known as Sandø i Romsdal to distinguish it from the nearby Sandø Municipality in Sunnmøre which was known as Sandø i Sunnmøre. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Sandøy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Coat of arms
[edit]The coat of arms was granted on 12 December 1986 and they were in use until the municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020. The official blazon is "Azure, three piles conjoined in dexter argent" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a three triangles conjoined at a point along the left side. 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 is meant to mimic the light beams from the Ona Lighthouse. This was chosen since lighthouses play an important role in the safety in the municipality, which consists of 871 islands and skerries. The arms were designed by Astor Furseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:See also-text
Churches
[edit]The Church of Norway had one parish (Template:Lang) within Sandøy Municipality. It was part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.
| Parish (Template:Lang) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandøy | Sandøy Church | Sandøya | 1812 |
| Harøy Church | Harøya | 1934 |
Geography
[edit]Sandøy was an island municipality. Sandøy consisted of 871 islands, but only five were regularly inhabited by the time the municipality was dissolved. The main inhabited islands were Harøya, Sandøya, Finnøya, Ona, and Orta. Ona is the most famous of the islands and is a popular tourist destination due to its history and the Ona Lighthouse. The highest point in the municipality was the Template:Convert tall mountain Harøyburet on the island of Harøya.<ref name="elev" />
Government
[edit]Sandøy 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.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite SNL</ref> The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
[edit]The municipal council (Template:Lang) of Sandøy is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the 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:Div col end
Mayors
[edit]The mayor (Template:Langx) of Sandøy was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col
- 1867–1871: Paul Knudsen Gaasø
- 1871–1872: Lars Olsson Sandøy
- 1872–1876: Rasmus Pedersson Huse
- 1876–1877: Gunnar Olsson Sandøy
- 1877–1879: Jonas Knutsson Sandøy
- 1880–1885: Thor Elias Pedersson Huse
- 1886–1887: Knut Paulsson Gåsøy
- 1888–1891: Thor Elias Pedersson Huse
- 1892–1901: Knut Nilsson Finnøy
- 1901–1904: Bernt E. Brunvoll
- 1904–1910: Peder P. Orten
- 1910–1922: Paul I. Huse
- 1922–1925: Elias E. Marøy (V)
- 1925–1928: Peder P. Orten
- 1928–1934: Paul J. Sandøy
- 1934–1941: Elias E. Marøy (V)
- 1941–1943: Nils N. Finnøy
- 1943–1944: Ole P. Husøy
- 1945–1945: Elias E. Marøy (V)
- 1946–1955: Nils K. Finnøy
- 1956–1964: Olav Skotheim (LL)
- 1965–1975: Johan P. Sandøy (LL/Sp)
- 1976–1979: Tor Huse (LL)
- 1980–1987: Idar Grøtta (Sp)
- 1988–1991: Paul Edmund Steinshamn (DLF/V)
- 1991–1995: Runar Myklebust (H)
- 1995–1999: Oddvar Myklebust (Ap)
- 1999–2007: Nils Magne Abelseth (H)
- 2007–2011: Oddvar Myklebust (Ap)
- 2011–2015: Hans Endre Sæterøy (H)
- 2015–2019: Oddvar Myklebust (Ap)
See also
[edit]References
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