Ørsta Municipality


is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta. Other villages in the municipality include Barstadvik, Flåskjer, Follestaddalen, Hovdebygda, Liadal, Nordre Vartdal, Store-Standal, Sæbø, Trandal, Urke, Vartdal, Ytre-Standal, Åmdalen, and Årset.
The municipality is the 171st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Ørsta Municipality is the 106th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,958. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4% over the previous 10-year period.
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General information

The municipality of Ørsta was established on 1 August 1883 when it was separated from the large Volda Municipality. The initial population was 2,070. On 1 January 1893, the Ytrestølen farm was transferred from Ørsta Municipality to Volda Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Ørsta Municipality was merged with Hjørundfjord Municipality and Vartdal Municipality to form a new, larger Ørsta Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the Bjørke and Leira areas of Ørsta Municipality were transferred to the neighboring Volda Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the Ørstafjorden. The meaning of the fjord name is uncertain, but it may come from the word which means "raging" or "mad". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Ørsten. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Ørsta.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 13 July 1984. The official blazon is "Azure, three fusils in fess argent". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is a set of three fusils lined up horizontally. 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 three diamonds represent the mountains reflecting in the waters of the fjord. The arms were designed by Gudmund Nesset. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Museums

The Brudavoll Farm, part of the Sunnmøre Museum Foundation, is located about from the village of Ørsta.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes within Ørsta Municipality. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
ØrstaØrsta ChurchØrsta1864
VartdalVartdal ChurchNordre Vartdal1876
HjørundfjordHjørundfjord ChurchSæbø1880

Geography

Of the total area, 48% of the municipality is at an altitude of or more above sea level.
Apart from the mountains, Ørsta's dominant geographical feature is fjords: Storfjorden in the north, Vartdalsfjorden, Ørstafjorden in the west, and Hjørundfjorden in the east. Volda Municipality lies to the south, Hareid Municipality and Ulstein Municipality are both across the fjord to the northwest, Sula Municipality lies across the fjord to the north, Sykkylven Municipality lies to the northeast, and Stranda Municipality lies to the southeast.
The municipality is also the heartland of the Sunnmørsalpene mountains, a particularly rugged and wild area of mountains in the southern part of Møre og Romsdal county. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Smørskredtindane. Other prolific peaks include Slogen at, Skårasalen at, Kolåstinden at, Ramoen at, Saudehornet at, and Romedalstinden at.

Economy

Important sectors are mechanical industry and furniture manufacturing, agriculture, commercial fishing, and aquaculture. The first two are predominant in the village of Ørsta while agriculture dominates in adjacent valleys like the Follestaddalen, Åmdalen, and Bondalen valleys. On the other hand, the northern part of the municipality has strong maritime traditions, with Vartdal being the home of one of the largest factory trawler fleets in Norway.

Government

Ørsta Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Ørsta Municipality is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Ørsta 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:
  • 1883–1885: Hans A. Velle
  • 1886–1893: Sivert Nossen
  • 1894–1901: Jon I. Skare
  • 1902–1910: Lars A. Rebbestad
  • 1911–1916: Peder A. Moe
  • 1917–1934: Laurits N. Myklebust
  • 1935–1941: Otto N. Øye
  • 1941–1945: Hans Brungot
  • 1945–1945: Otto N. Øye
  • 1946–1951: Peter Kjeldseth Moe
  • 1952–1955: Martin B. Moe
  • 1956–1959: Ragnar Unhjem
  • 1960–1967: Pål Sandvik
  • 1968–1973: Jakob E. Øye
  • 1974–1979: Karsten Standal
  • 1980–1983: Oddmund Breiteig
  • 1984–1991: Sigbjørn Kvistad
  • 1992–2003: Nils Taklo
  • 2003–2007: Hans Olav Myklebust
  • 2007–2011: Gudny Fagerhol
  • 2011–2015: Rune Hovde
  • 2015–2023: Stein Aam
  • 2023–present: Per Are Sørheim

Transportation

Ørsta–Volda Airport is the regional airport for people living in the municipalities of Ørsta, Volda, Vanylven, Sande, Ulstein, Hareid, and Herøy. European Route E39 transects the municipality in a north–south direction. Ørsta Municipality is linked to Sula Municipality and Sykkylven Municipality by a ferry at Festøy, the northernmost point in Ørsta. It is also linked to Ulstein Municipality by the Eiksund Tunnel, an undersea tunnel that opened on 23 February 2008 that is, currently, the world's deepest at below the sea surface.

Notable people