Bolsøy Municipality
Bolsøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Molde Municipality in the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre was Bolsøy on the island of Bolsøya where the Bolsøy Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 304th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Bolsøy Municipality was the 97th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 7,888. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 30.9% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Bolsøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. According to the 1835 census, Bolsøy had a population of 2,391. On 1 January 1877, the Sotnakken farm was transferred to Bolsøy Municipality from Nesset Municipality. In 1915, a part of Bolsøy Municipality with 183 inhabitants was transferred to the growing town of Molde. Again in 1952, another part of Bolsøy Municipality was transferred to the town of Molde.During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Molde Municipality:
- all of Bolsøy Municipality
- the town of Molde
- the northern part of Veøy Municipality
- the Mordal area of Nord-Aukra Municipality
Name
The municipality is named after the island of Bolsøya since the first Bolsøy Church was built there. The first element comes from the old name for the island. The island's name is uncertain, but it may come from the word which means "bull". The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Bolsø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Bolsøy.Churches
The Church of Norway had three parishes within Bolsøy Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Bolsøy prestegjeld and the Ytre Romsdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Bolsøy | Bolsøy Church | Røbekk | 1896 |
| Kleive | Kleive Church | Kleive | 1858 |
| Røvik | Røvik Church | Røvika | 1905 |
Geography
The municipality was centered around the Moldefjorden and Fannefjorden, surrounding the town of Molde. Fræna Municipality and Øre Municipality were to the north, Nesset Municipality was to the southeast, Veøy Municipality was to the south, and Nord-Aukra Municipality was to the west. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Skåla, located about to the northeast of the village of Nesjestranda.Government
While it existed, Bolsøy 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 Frostating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Bolsøy Municipality was made up of 35 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.Mayors
The mayor of Bolsøy Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:- 1838–1840: Hans Jørgen Synnestvedt
- 1841–1843: Løve Sørensen Schevik
- 1844–1845: Lars Knudsen Hungnæs
- 1846–1849: Ebbe Carsten Tønder Astrup
- 1850–1851: Løve Sørensen Schevik
- 1852–1853: Ole Olsen Aarøe
- 1854–1857: Wollert Danckertsen Krohn
- 1858–1860: Petter Anton Møller
- 1860–1860: Ole Olsen Aarøe
- 1861–1875: Thomas Talseth
- 1876–1879: Lars Hungnes
- 1880–1885: Thomas Talseth
- 1886–1907: Lars Hungnes
- 1908–1919: Ole Thorvik
- 1920–1922: Christian Johannessen
- 1923–1928: Knut Kringstad
- 1929–1931: Aslak Hagen
- 1932–1936: Mathias A. Lervik
- 1937–1939: Knut Valved
- 1939–1941: Knut Kringstad
- 1946–1947: Ansgar Berild
- 1948–1951: Gunnar Solli
- 1952–1955: Ansgar Berild
- 1956–1957: Rolf Møller
- 1958–1959: Ingolf L. Pedersen
- 1960–1963: Leif J. Lunder