Editing Ørskog Municipality (section)

==General information==
Ørskog was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). On 1 August 1883, the southwestern district of Ørskog (most of Ørskog on the southwestern side of the [[Storfjorden (Sunnmøre)|Storfjorden]] except for the Søvik and Ramstaddalen areas) was separated to form the new [[Sykkylven Municipality|Søkelven Municipality]] (the spelling was later changed to ''Sykkylven''). This left Ørskog Municipality with 1,735 inhabitants. On 1 June 1955, the Søvik and Ramstaddalen areas of Ørskog Municipality (located south of the Storfjorden) were administratively transferred to [[Sykkylven Municipality]].<ref name="Dag">{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1965, there was a merger between three neighbors: [[Stordal Municipality]] (population: 1,052) in the south, Ørskog Municipality (population: 1,664) in the centre, and [[Skodje Municipality]] (population: 2,048) in the north, creating a new, larger Ørskog Municipality. This was merger was short-lived. On 1 January 1977, the merger was reversed all three municipalities were separated once again. This left the newly reconstituted Ørskog Municipality with a population of 1,668.<ref name="Dag" />

On 1 January 2020, Ørskog Municipality was merged with [[Haram Municipality]], [[Skodje Municipality]], [[Sandøy Municipality]], and [[Ålesund Municipality]] to form a new, larger [[Ålesund Municipality]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nye Ålesund |url=http://nyealesund.no/ |access-date=2017-10-19 |language=Norwegian}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old ''Ørskog'' farm ({{langx|non|Øyraskógr}}) since the first [[Ørskog Church]] was built there. The first element is the [[plural]] [[genitive case]] of {{wikt-lang|non|eyrr}} which means "gravel [[shoal]] near the mouth of a river". The last element is {{wikt-lang|non|skógr}} which means "wood" or "[[forest]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=691LAQAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Romsdals amt |date=1908 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=13 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=449 and 452 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 11 November 1983. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Ermine (heraldry)|Ermine]], a [[Pale (heraldry)|pale]] [[Or (heraldry)|Or]]"'' ({{langx|no|På hermelin grunn ein gull pæl}}). This means the arms have a [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[ermine (heraldry)|ermine]] which means it is commonly colored white with small black spots. The [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[Pale (heraldry)|pale]] with a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The pale was chosen to symbolize a tree trunk, as a symbol for [[forestry]]. In the 17th century, the municipality exported many tall trees to the [[Dutch Republic]], where they were used for shipbuilding. The ermine background was chosen to symbolize [[fur farming]] in the area as well. The [[ermine (heraldry)|ermine]] is also a [[canting arms|canting]] for the many animals in the forests. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Ørskog |access-date=2023-04-05 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Orskog, Møre og Romsdal (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-15-23.html |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1984-01-07 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LFO/forskrift/1983-11-04-1631 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref> 

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] had one parish ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within Ørskog Municipality. It was part of the [[Austre Sunnmøre prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Møre]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Ørskog'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|Ørskog||[[Ørskog Church]]||[[Sjøholt]]||1873
|}