Ørskog Municipality


Ørskog is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Ålesund Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnmøre. The administrative centre was the village of Sjøholt. The other main village was Vaksvika, about south of Sjøholt. The European Route E39/E136 highway ran through the municipality, connecting the towns of Ålesund and Molde. The Rauma Group was the largest company in Ørskog in terms of turnover.
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 363rd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Ørskog Municipality was the 310th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 2,250. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 5% over the previous 10-year period.
WWW orskog.kommune.no

General information

Ørskog was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 August 1883, the southwestern district of Ørskog was separated to form the new Søkelven Municipality. This left Ørskog Municipality with 1,735 inhabitants. On 1 June 1955, the Søvik and Ramstaddalen areas of Ørskog Municipality were administratively transferred to Sykkylven Municipality.
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 in the south, Ørskog Municipality in the centre, and Skodje Municipality 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.
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.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Ørskog farm since the first Ørskog Church was built there. The first element is the plural genitive case of which means "gravel shoal near the mouth of a river". The last element is which means "wood" or "forest".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 11 November 1983. The official blazon is "Ermine, a pale Or". This means the arms have a field has a tincture of ermine which means it is commonly colored white with small black spots. The charge is a pale with a tincture of 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 is also a 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.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Ørskog Municipality. It was part of the Austre Sunnmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
ØrskogØrskog ChurchSjøholt1873

Geography

The municipality was located on the north shore of the Storfjorden, and it was bordered by Skodje Municipality to the west, Vestnes Municipality to the north and east, and Stordal Municipality to the south. Most of the population lived along the shore or in the small valleys that stretch inland from the fjord. The eastern part of the municipality was mountainous. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Lauparen, a tripoint on the border with Ørskog Municipality, Vestnes Municipality, and Stordal Municipality.

Landslide

At 10:00 p.m. on 8 January 1731, a landslide with a volume of possibly fell from the mountain Skafjell from a height of into the Storfjorden opposite Stranda. The slide generated a megatsunami in height that struck Stranda, and damaging waves of lesser size traveled as far as Ørskog. It was the first natural disaster to be reported and documented in Norway in historic time.

Government

Ørskog Municipality was responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Ørskog Municipality is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Ørskog Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
  • 1838–1839: Ole Sollied
  • 1840–1844: Schølberg
  • 1844–1845: Ole Sollied
  • 1846–1849: Fredrik Krabbe
  • 1850–1863: Lars Strømme
  • 1864–1867: Fredrik Søholt
  • 1868–1881: Aamund Aure
  • 1882–1883: Lars P. Grebstad
  • 1883–1885: Ole Strømme
  • 1886–1889: P. Skarbø
  • 1890–1913: P. Th. Gjære
  • 1914–1919: Tore P. Gjære
  • 1920–1934: Tore Vaksvik
  • 1935–1945: Ole P. Solnørdal
  • 1945–1945: Olav Sjøholt
  • 1946–1951: Per Gjære
  • 1952–1957: Hans Busæt
  • 1958–1959: Bjarne Hansen
  • 1960–1964: Hans Busæt
  • 1965–1971: Jostein Valde
  • 1972–1975: Otto Berg
  • 1976–1987: Lars Vethe
  • 1988–1989: Mons-Olav Walgermo
  • 1990–1995: Jostein Vestre
  • 1995–2003: Knut Helge Harstad
  • 2003–2007: Sigmund Stene
  • 2007–2015: Thorbjørn Fylling
  • 2015–2017: Karen Simonnes Aanes
  • 2017–2019: Knut Helge Harstad