Vanylven Municipality

Vanylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Fiskå. Other villages in the municipality include Åheim, Åram, Rovdane, Eidså, Slagnes, and Syvde.

The Template:Convert municipality is the 240th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Vanylven Municipality is the 228th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,026. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has decreased by 8.4% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

General information

File:St. Jetmundkyrkja.jpg

St. Jetmund Church

The parish of Vanelven was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The spelling was later changed to Vanylven. On 1 February 1918, the area around the Syvdsfjorden (population: 1,260) was separated to become the new Syvde Municipality. This left Vanylven Municipality with 1,848 residents.<ref name="Dag">Template:Cite book</ref>

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Syvde Municipality (population: 1,458) and the Rovdestranda area (population: 436) of Rovde Municipality were both merged into Vanylven Municipality, giving Vanylven a new population of 3,897.<ref name="Dag" />

On 1 January 2002, the mainland Åram area north of Fiskåbygd (population: 380) was transferred from Sande Municipality to Vanylven Municipality.<ref name="Dag" /><ref name="ssb">Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Vanylvsfjorden (Template:Langx). The meaning of the first element is uncertain, but it may come from the word Template:Wikt-lang which means "fishing line" or Template:Lang which mean "dark" or "colorless", referring to the occurrence of olivine in the area. The last element is Template:Lang which is frequently used in the Sunnmøre area in the names of fjords. It possibly comes from the word Template:Lang which means "low, wet terrain".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Historically, the name was written Vanelven. In 1889, the spelling was changed to Vannelven. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Vanylven.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:See also

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 11 December 1987. The official blazon is "Vert, a pile embowed argent" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a pile embowed (a triangle with curved sides). 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 arms are meant to show how the Vanylvsfjorden meets the sea, surrounded by the fertile green lands of Vanylven. The fertile lands and the sea which is full of herring are both important industries to the municipality which is why the colors green (land) and silver (sea) were chosen for the arms. The arms were designed by Jostein O. Mo. 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><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes (Template:Lang) within Vanylven Municipality. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Churches in Vanylven

Parish (Template:Lang)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Vanylven	Vanylven Church	Slagnes	1863
Syvde	Syvde Church	Syvde	1837
Rovde	Rovde Church	Rovdane	1872
Åram	Åram Church	Åram	1927
Åheim	Saint Jetmund Church	Åheim	1130

Geography

File:Vanylven 024.jpg

Vanylven borders Sande Municipality and Herøy Municipality in the north (across the Rovdefjorden). Volda Municipality lies to the east; and Stad Municipality (in Vestland county) is located to the south.

Vanylven Municipality is located on the mainland of Norway and it is surrounded by several fjords. The Vanylvsfjorden lies to the west and the Rovdefjorden to the north. The Syvdsfjorden cuts into the municipality from the north and it empties into the Rovdefjorden. The Syltefjorden branches off the main Vanylvsfjorden, just past the village of Fiskåbygd. The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Storeblæja, just north of the border with Volda Municipality.<ref name="elev" />

Government

Vanylven 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

The municipal council (Template:Lang) of Vanylven Municipality is made up of 21 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

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

• 1838–1839: Jon J. Sundal
• 1840–1843: Nicolai Christian Synnestvedt
• 1844–1855: Jon J. Sundal
• 1856–1859: Hans A. Thunem
• 1860–1863: Bern Krøvel
• 1864–1869: Samson Qviebakke
• 1870–1871: Bern Krøvel
• 1872–1875: Samson Qviebakke
• 1876–1877: Matias O. Thunem
• 1878–1879: Bernt S. Breiteig
• 1880–1895: Matias O. Thunem
• 1896–1901: Gerhard K. Fiskå
• 1902–1913: Kristian R. Sandnes
• 1914–1919: Ola Hellebust
• 1920–1925: Andreas M. Osnes
• 1926–1931: Petter I. Lien
• 1932–1934: John A. Aasen
• 1935–1937: Andreas M. Osnes
• 1938–1945: John A. Aasen
• 1945–1945: Sverre Nybø (H)
• 1946–1949: Knut Rønnestad
• 1950–1951: Knut A. Thunem
• 1952–1955: Anfinn M. Skorge
• 1956–1959: Einar Orten
• 1960–1961: Sverre Nybø (H)
• 1962–1963: Olav A. Aarø
• 1964–1965: Osnes
• 1966–1973: Ola Øvregård
• 1974–1975: Svein Thunem
• 1976–1983: Ragnar Vik
• 1984–1987: Jon Arne Lillebø (KrF)
• 1988–2003: Jon Aasen (Ap)
• 2003–2015: Jan Helgøy (KrF)
• 2015–2023: Lena M. Landsverk Sande (V)
• 2023–present: Paul Sindre Vedeld (Sp)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Maria Parr.jpg

Maria Parr, 2009

Notable people

• Jacob Vidnes (1875 in Vanylven – 1940), a trade unionist, newspaper editor, and politician
• Marie Lovise Widnes (born 1930 in Vanylven), a poet, author, singer, composer, and politician
• Helge Simonnes (born 1955 in Vanylven), an editor and current editor-in-chief of Vårt Land
• Else Mundal (born 1944 in Vanylven), a philologist and academic
• Maria Parr (born 1981 in Vanylven), a children's writer

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Template:In lang
• Template:Official site Template:In lang