Hustadvika Municipality


Hustadvika is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Nordmøre and Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Elnesvågen. Other villages in the municipality include Hustad, Bud, Tornes, Sylte, Malme, Aureosen, Eide, Lyngstad, Vevang, and Visnes.
The municipality is the 202nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Hustadvika Municipality is the 92nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,437. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 1.9% over the previous 10-year period.
WWW Official Site𝕏 Hustadvika

General information

On 1 January 2020, Eide Municipality and Fræna Municipality were merged to form the new Hustadvika Municipality. The borders have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality is named after the long Hustadvika coastline, located in the northern part of the municipality. The name is composed of two parts and it is reminiscent of the name for the former Hustad Municipality, which existed from 1918 until its dissolution in 1964. The first part of the current name comes from the old Hustad farm since the first Hustad Church was built there. The first element of the farm name comes from the word which means "house". The last element of the farm name is the plural form of which means "place" or "village". The second part of the municipal name is which means "bay" or "cove".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was approved on 17 October 2019. The official blazon is "Azure, a plow and fish argent". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is an artistic design reminiscent of an interlocking fish and plow. 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 design was chosen to symbolize the two main industries of the municipality: fishing and agriculture. The arms were designed by Madelen Behrendt and Øystein Hauge. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has five parishes within Hustadvika Municipality. It is part of the Molde domprosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
BudBud ChurchBud1717
EideEide ChurchEide1871
EideGaustad ChapelGaustad, near Vevang2001
HustadHustad ChurchHustad1874
MyrbostadMyrbostad ChurchElnesvågen1880
VågøyVågøy ChurchVågøya1904

Geography

The municipality of Hustadvika sits on the northwestern end of the Romsdal Peninsula along the Hustadvika shoreline, just west of the island of Averøya. The Norwegian Sea lies to the north, the Harøyfjorden, Julsundet strait, and Aukra Municipality lie to the west, Molde Municipality and Gjemnes Municipality lie to the south, and Averøy Municipality and the Kornstadfjorden lie to the east.
The Frænfjorden cuts into the middle of the municipality. The coastal areas are low and marshy while the interior of the municipality is mountainous. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Snøtinden on the border with Gjemnes Municipality. Other notable mountains include Jendemsfjellet Høgheitinden, and Lågheia. The Bjørnsund islands lie off the northwestern coast. They are now uninhabited, but the Bjørnsund Lighthouse is still in operation. Kvitholmen Lighthouse lies just off the northern coast of the municipality, in an area with hundreds of small islands and skerries.

Government

Hustadvika 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 Nordmøre og [Romsdal District Court] and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Hustadvika 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 Hustadvika 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:
  • 2020–2023: Tove Henøen
  • 2023–present: Nils Christian Harnes

Notable people