Vartdal Municipality Vartdal herred | |
|---|---|
| Vartdalsstranden herred (historic name) | |
View of Sætre in Vartdal | |
Møre og Romsdal within Norway | |
Vartdal within Møre og Romsdal | |
| Coordinates:62°18′01″N06°04′59″E / 62.30028°N 6.08306°E /62.30028; 6.08306 | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Møre og Romsdal |
| District | Sunnmøre |
| Established | 1 Jan 1895 |
| • Preceded by | Ulstein Municipality |
| Disestablished | 1 Jan 1964 |
| • Succeeded by | Ørsta Municipality |
| Administrative centre | Sætre |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(1961–1963) | Olav Myklebust |
| Area (upon dissolution) | |
• Total | 123.5 km2 (47.7 sq mi) |
| • Rank | #473 in Norway |
| Highest elevation | 1,419 m (4,656 ft) |
| Population (1963) | |
• Total | 1,315 |
| • Rank | #563 in Norway |
| • Density | 10.6/km2 (27/sq mi) |
| • Change(10 years) | |
| Demonym | Vartdaling[2] |
| Official language | |
| • Norwegian form | Nynorsk[3] |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1521[5] |
Vartdal is aformer municipality inMøre og Romsdal county,Norway. The 123.5-square-kilometre (47.7 sq mi) municipality existed from 1895 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part ofØrsta Municipality in thetraditional district ofSunnmøre. Theadministrative centre was the village ofSætre (which is also known asVartdal). Other villages in the municipality includedFlåskjer andNordre Vartdal. The main church for Vartdal wasVartdal Church, located in the village of Nordre Vartdal.[6]
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 123.5-square-kilometre (47.7 sq mi) municipality was the 473rd largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Vartdal Municipality was the 563rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,315. The municipality'spopulation density was 10.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (27/sq mi) and its population had increased by 14% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]

The municipality was established on 1 January 1895 whenUlstein Municipality was divided into two municipalities. The part of Ulstein Municipality located north of theVartdalsfjorden (population: 2,996) remained as a smaller Ulstein Municipality and the part of the old Ulstein Municipality located south of theVartdalsfjorden (population: 736) became the newVartdalsstrand Municipality. The name was officially shortened toVartdal Municipality in 1918.[9]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of theSchei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Vartdal Municipality (population: 1,315) was merged withHjørundfjord Municipality (population: 1,728) andØrsta Municipality (population: 6,209) to form a new, largerØrsta Municipality.[9]
The municipality (originally theparish) is named after the oldVartdal farm (Old Norse:Varpdalr orVerpdalr) since the firstVartdal Church was built there. The first element comes from the old name for a local river. The name of the river comes from the wordverpa, or its past tense formvarp, which means "to cast" or "to throw" a fishing net. The last element isdalr which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the municipal name wasVartdalsstranden. The suffix-stranden is the definite singular form of theOld Norse wordstrǫnd which means "beach" or "shore".[10] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelledVartdalsstranden. On 3 November 1917, aroyal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality toVartdal.[11]
TheChurch of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Vartdal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Ørstaprestegjeld and theSøre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in theDiocese of Bjørgvin.[8]
| Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vartdal | Vartdal Church | Nordre Vartdal | 1876 |
Vartdal Municipality was located on the southern shore of theVartdalsfjorden, in theSunnmørsalpane mountains. The highest point in the municipality was the 1,419-metre (4,656 ft) tall mountain Jønshornet, located on the border withHjørundfjord Municipality.[1]Ørsta Municipality was located to the south,Hjørundfjord Municipality was located to the east,Hareid Municipality was located to the northwest (across theVartdalsfjorden), andÅlesund Municipality was located to the north (also across the fjord).
While it existed, Vartdal Municipality was responsible forprimary education (through 10th grade), outpatienthealth services,senior citizen services,welfare and othersocial services,zoning,economic development, and municipalroads and utilities. The municipality was governed by amunicipal council ofdirectly elected representatives. Themayor wasindirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[12] The municipality was under the jurisdiction of theFrostating Court of Appeal.
Themunicipal council(Heradsstyre) of Vartdal Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by politicalparty.
| Party name(in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Local List(s)(Lokale lister) | 17 | |
| Total number of members: | 17 | |
| Note: On 1 January 1964, Vartdal Municipality became part ofØrsta Municipality. | ||
| Party name(in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Local List(s)(Lokale lister) | 17 | |
| Total number of members: | 17 | |
| Party name(in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 | |
| Local List(s)(Lokale lister) | 14 | |
| Total number of members: | 16 | |
| Party name(in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 | |
| Local List(s)(Lokale lister) | 14 | |
| Total number of members: | 16 | |
| Party name(in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders(Arbeidarar, fiskarar, småbrukarar liste) | 3 | |
| Local List(s)(Lokale lister) | 13 | |
| Total number of members: | 16 | |
| Party name(in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeidarpartiet) | 3 | |
| Local List(s)(Lokale lister) | 13 | |
| Total number of members: | 16 | |
| Note: Due to theGerman occupation of Norway duringWorld War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. | ||
Themayor (Nynorsk:ordførar) of Vartdal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: