Halsa is a former municipality in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until 2020 when it became part of

Heim Municipality Heim is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 upon the merger of three other municipalities. It is located in the traditional district of Fosen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the vi ...

in Trondelag county. It was part of the Nordmøre

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of Halsa was the village of Liabøen. Other villages in the municipality included Todalen, Halsanaustan, Valsøyfjord, Engan, Hjellnes, and

Valsøybotnen Valsøybotnen is a village in Heim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located at the end of the Valsøyfjorden, about south of the village of Hjellnes and about southeast of the village of Liabøen. The area was once par ...

. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 279th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Halsa was the 349th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,571. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was and its population has decreased by 6% over the last decade.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Halsa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law). On 1 January 1868, an unpopulated area of Halsa was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Straumsnes. On 1 January 1879, a part of Halsa (population: 279) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Stangvik. The next year, the Torjulvågen area (population: 240) on the west side of the

Halsafjorden Halsafjord or Halsafjorden ( en, Halsa Fjord) is a fjord located between Heim Municipality (in Trøndelag county) and Tingvoll Municipality (in Møre og Romsdal county), Norway. The long fjord branches south off the Vinjefjorden and stretches ab ...

was transferred to Tingvoll Municipality. On 1 July 1915, part of southern Halsa (population: 114) was transferred to Åsskard Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1965, all of Valsøyfjord Municipality that was located on the mainland (population: 1,104) was merged into Halsa Municipality. On 1 January 1976, the district of

Aure Municipality Aure is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Nordmøre. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages in Aure include Gullstein, Stemshaug, Todalen, Tjeldbergodden, Arasvika, and ...

located south of the

Vinjefjorden Vinjefjorden or Vinje Fjord is a fjord in Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag counties in Norway. It begins at the village of Vinjeøra in Heim Municipality (in Trøndelag county) and flows west through the municipalities of Aure, Tingvoll, and Kris ...

(population: 158) was transferred to Halsa Municipality. On 1 January 2020, Halsa merged with the neighboring municipality of

Hemne Hemne is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was incorporated into Heim Municipality. It was part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the mun ...

and the

Ytre Snillfjord Ytre Snillfjord is a village in Heim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the Snillfjorden near where it joins the Hemnfjorden. It is located about west of the village of Krokstadøra and about northeast of the ...

area in the municipality of Snillfjord to form

. The new municipality is located in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

county, which means that as part of the merger Halsa left

county and moved to

Name

The municipality (originally the

) was named after the old ''Halsa'' farm ( non, Hǫlsyinjar), since the first

Halsa Church Halsa Church ( no, Halsa kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Heim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Halsanaustan. The church is accessible from European route E39 via County Road 350. It ...

was built there. The first element is ''hals'' which means "

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

" and the last element is the

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

form of ''vin'' which means "

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

" or "

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

". Here, the word ''hals'' is referring to an isthmus ''(neck of land)'' between two

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

and the

Skålvik Fjord Skålvik Fjord (also Skaalvik Fjord; no, Skålvikfjorden) is an arm of Vinje Fjord in the municipality of Halsa in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway, in the traditional Nordmøre district. Skålvik Fjord extends southwards to Betna. Geologicall ...

. Before 1918, the name was written ''"Halse"''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted on 19 August 1988. The gray and blue

motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...

represents the local geography since there are three fjords and five

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

s in the municipality.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

had two parishes () within the municipality of Halsa. It is part of the

Indre Nordmøre prosti Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administra ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...

Geography

Halsa had numerous fjords in and around the municipality including the

Arasvikfjorden Arasvikfjord or Arasvikfjorden ( en, Arasvik Fjord) is a fjord in Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag counties in Norway. The fjord is located between Aure Municipality (in Møre og Romsdal ...

, the

, and

Valsøyfjorden Valsøyfjorden is a fjord in Heim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is a fjord arm off of the Arasvikfjord and it runs south past the island of Valsøya. The villages along the fjord include Engan, Hjellnes, and Valsøybotnen. Th ...

. The

Valsøy Bridge The Valsøy Bridge ( no, Valsøybrua) is the longest of three spans that crosses parts of the Valsøyfjorden in the municipality of Heim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The bridge, which opened in June 1993, connects the mainland of Heim to the wes ...

crosses the Valsøyfjorden. There are ferry connections to Tingvoll Municipality to the west and to

to the north.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Halsa, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. The municipality falls under the

Nordmøre District Court Nordmøre District Court ( no, Nordmøre tingrett) was a district court in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Kristiansund. The court existed until 2021. It had jurisdiction over the northern part of the county ...

and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Halsa is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Attractions

Halsa was the location where the famous

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...

, Keiko, went when he was set free. Keiko died in December 2003 and was buried there. The people of Halsa have built a memorial

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

over Keiko's body, where people from all over the world are free to visit him. In the first year after his

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

, around 5,000 people visited the grave but then fewer and fewer came and in 2007 only around 500 visitors paid him

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

. In June 2008, hardly anyone had come to see the grave, so the municipality decided it would not continue keeping the grave in order.

Notable people

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

{{authority control Nordmøre Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places disestablished in 2020