Veøy is a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Møre og Romsdal county,

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 the ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. It initially consisted of all of the present-day

Vestnes Municipality Vestnes is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Vestnes is part of the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestnes. Other villages in the municipality include Vikeb ...

, as well as the southern part of

Molde Municipality Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the ...

and the northern part of

Rauma Municipality Rauma is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre is the town of Åndalsnes. Other settlements in Rauma include the villages of Måndalen, Innfjorden, Veblu ...

. Vestnes Municipality was only part of Veøy for a few months in 1838 before it was made into a separate municipality. In 1964, the municipality was split between Molde and Rauma municipalities. Veøy Municipality was named after the island of

Veøya Veøya (or Veøy) is an island in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located at a junction of the three main branches of Romsdal Fjord between the island of Sekken and the mainland near the village of Nesjestranda. T ...

, the administrative centre, where the main church for the municipality ( Old Veøy Church) was located. There are no inhabitants on the island of

(as of 2020).

Name

The island and municipality was named Veøy ( non, Véøy). It was the religious center of the whole

Romsdal Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after ...

region and the name is a compound of '' vé'' which means "

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

" and ''øy'' which means "

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

", thus a ''holy'' island. The name was historically spelled ''Veø''.

History

Just before 8:00 p.m. on 22 February 1756, a landslide with a volume of — the largest known landslide in Norway in historic time — traveled at high speed from a height of on the side of the mountain Tjellafjellet into the Langfjorden from Veøy. The slide generated three megatsunamis in the immediate area in the Langfjorden and the

Eresfjorden Eresfjorden is a fjord in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is a long branch off of the main Langfjorden, which is itself a branch off the great Romsdal Fjord. The fjord begins at the mouth of the Eira River near the vi ...

with heights of . Damaging waves reached Veøy, where, although reduced in size, they washed inland above normal flood levels. 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 o ...

of Veøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The western district of Veøy was separated in the fall of 1838 to become

. 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 1964, the islands of

Sekken Sekken is an island in Molde Municipality, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located in Romsdal Fjord, at the mouth of the Langfjorden. The island lies about south of the island of Bolsøya and about west of the historic island ...

and

as well as the Nesjestranda district on the mainland north of the Langfjorden (with a total population of 756) were incorporated into the newly enlarged

. The remainder of Veøy on the south side of the Langfjorden and the

Vågstranda Vågstranda is a village along Romsdal Fjord in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located along the European route E136 highway, about north of the village of Voll and east of the village of Vikebukt (in Vestnes Mun ...

area (population: 1,400) were merged with the small municipalities of Eid, Grytten,

Hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

, and Voll to form the new

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Veøy, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

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 during the refere ...

and other social services,

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 ...

, 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 counc ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

representatives, which in turn elects 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 ...

Municipal council

The

of Veøy was made up of 21 representatives that were 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 featur ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veoy Romsdal Molde Rauma, Norway Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway