is a

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 ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal ...

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 ...

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

. 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 the municipality is the village of Ørsta. Other villages in the municipality include Hovdebygda,

Flåskjer Flåskjer is a small village in the municipality of Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. It is located along the European route E39 highway about southwest of the village of Sætre in the Vartdal district of Ørsta. It lies at the entrance to the ...

, Liadal, Urke, Barstadvik, Åmdalen, Follestaddalen,

Nordre Vartdal Nordre Vartdal is a village in the Vartdal area of the municipality of Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The village is located along the Vartdalsfjorden about northeast of the village of Sætre. The village sits at the entrance to the Ådalen ...

, Vartdal, Sæbø, Sætre,

Store-Standal Store-Standal is a small village in the Hjørundfjord section of Ørsta municipality, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The village has a population of approximately 20 people. Store-Standal is located along the Hjørundfjorden midway between the village ...

, and

Ytre Standal Ytre-Standal is a small village in the Hjørundfjord area of the municipality of Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The village has a population of approximately 3 people and in the weekends above 20. Ytre-Standal is located on the Hjørundfjorden ...

. The municipality is the 171st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ørsta is the 105th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,833. 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 ...

is and its population has increased by 4.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Ørsta was established on 1 August 1883 when it was separated from

Volda Municipality Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and ...

. The initial population was 2,070. On 1 January 1893, the Ytrestølen farm (population: 13) was transferred from Ørsta to Volda. 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 municipality of Ørsta (population: 6,209) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of

Hjørundfjord Hjørundfjord is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality is now a part of the municipality of Ørsta. The administrative centre was the village ...

(population: 1,728) and

Vartdal Vartdal is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1895 until its dissolution in 1965. The area now sits in the northwestern part of the Ørsta municipality, along the Vartdalsfjorden. The admini ...

(population: 1,315) to form a new, larger municipality of Ørsta. On 1 January 2020, the

Bjørke Bjørke is a village in the municipality of Volda, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The village is located at the innermost part of the Hjørundfjorden, just south of the village of Leira. The village is home to Bjørke Church. The village of Bjørke l ...

and Leira areas of Ørsta were transferred to the neighboring

Name

The municipality is named after the

Ørstafjorden Ørstafjorden is a fjord in the municipality of Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The long fjord runs from the village of Ørsta to the Vartdalsfjorden. The fjord is about wide and the deepest point in the fjord reaches below sea level. The ...

( non, Œrstr). The meaning of the name is unknown. Before 1918, the name was written ''Ørsten''.

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 13 July 1984. The arms consist of three white or silver

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

on a blue background. The three diamonds represent the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s reflecting in the waters of the

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 ...

Museums

The Brudavoll Farm, part of the

Sunnmøre Museum Foundation The Sunnmøre Museum Foundation ( no, Stiftinga Sunnmøre Museum) is a foundation comprising 12 museums in the Sunnmøre traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The museums in the foundation are: *The Sunnmør ...

, is located about from the village of Ørsta.

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 ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Ørsta. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (

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

Of the total area, 48% () of the municipality is at an altitude of or more above sea level. Apart from the mountains, Ørsta's dominant geographical feature is fjords: Storfjorden in the north,

Vartdalsfjorden Vartdalsfjorden is a fjord (more technically, a strait) in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It begins at the Storfjorden and Sulafjorden in the northeast and flows through the municipalities of Hareid and Ulstein on the northern shore of the fj ...

in the west, and

Hjørundfjorden Hjørundfjorden is a fjord in the traditional district of Sunnmøre in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located mostly within the municipality of Ørsta, although part of the mouth of the fjord is in Sykkylven. The long fjord is an arm o ...

in the east. Only in the south is it connected by land to neighbouring

. Otherwise, it borders the municipalities of Sula in the north,

Hareid Hareid is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Hareid. The other main population centers are Brandal and Hjørungavåg. The municipality is situ ...

and

Ulstein Ulstein is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is the town of Ulsteinvik. The municipality occupies the western half of the island of Hareidla ...

(by sea only) in the west,

Sykkylven Sykkylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages in the municipality include Ikornnes, Straumgjerde, and Tusvik. The municip ...

to the northeast, and

Stranda Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda. Stranda consists of three smaller villages and one larger central villag ...

to the southeast. The municipality is also the heartland of the Sunnmørsalpene mountains, a particularly rugged and wild area of mountains in the southern part of

county. Prolific peaks include

Slogen Slogen is a mountain rising up from Hjørundfjorden in the municipality of Ørsta in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The mountain is located just west of the municipal boundary with Stranda and just north of the nearby mountain Jakta. Many fa ...

at ,

Skårasalen Skårasalen is a mountain in the municipality of Ørsta in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The tall mountain has the seventh largest prominence () of all mountains in Norway. The mountain is located about south of the village of Sæbø and ...

at , Kolåstinden at , Ramoen at , Saudehornet at , and Romedalstinden at .

Economy

Important sectors are mechanical industry and furniture manufacturing,

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, commercial fishing, and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

. The first two are predominant in the village of

Ørsta is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Ørsta ( ...

while agriculture dominates in adjacent valleys like the Follestaddalen, Åmdalen, and

Bondalen Bondalen is a valley in the municipality of Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The long, sparsely populated valley runs west from the village of Sæbø, on the shore of the Hjørundfjorden. A section of Norwegian County Road 655 (Fv655) runs t ...

valleys. On the other hand, the northern part of the municipality has strong maritime traditions, with

being the home of one of the largest

factory trawler A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for Fish processing, processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions ...

fleets in Norway.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Ørsta, 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 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 (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

Møre og Romsdal District Court Møre og Romsdal District Court ( no, Møre og Romsdal tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Volda (village), Volda ...

and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal ( no, Frostating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Trondheim. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal ...

Municipal council

The

() of Ørsta is made up of 33 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 of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Ørsta (incomplete list): *2015–present: Stein Aam ( Sp) *2011-2015: Rune Hovde ( H) *2007-2011: Gudny Fagerhol ( Ap) *2003-2007: Hans Olav Myklebust ( FrP) *1992-2003: Nils Taklo (Sp) *1984-1991: Sigbjørn Kvistad (

KrF The Christian Democratic Party ( nb, Kristelig Folkeparti, nn, Kristeleg Folkeparti, se, Risttalaš Álbmotbellodat, , KrF) is a Christian-democratic political party in Norway founded in 1933. The party is an observer member of the European Pe ...

)

Transportation

These include Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (Hovdebygda), which is the regional airport for people living in the municipalities Ørsta, Volda, Vanylven, Sande, Ulstein, Hareid and Herøy, and

European Route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eu ...

which transects the municipality in a north–south direction. Ørsta is linked to Sula and Sykkylven by

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

on its northernmost extreme Festøy. It is also linked to

Ulstein Municipality Ulstein is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is the town of Ulsteinvik. The municipality occupies the western half of the island of Harei ...

by the

Eiksund Tunnel The Eiksund tunnel ( no, Eiksundtunnelen) is an undersea tunnel in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, which runs under the Vartdalsfjorden connecting the municipalities of Ørsta and Ulstein. The tunnel is long and reaches a depth of below sea le ...

, an

undersea tunnel An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry li ...

that opened on 23 February 2008 that is, currently, the world's deepest at below the sea surface.

Notable residents

Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from va ...

(1813–1896) a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright and poet. *

Anders Hovden Anders Hovden (April 6, 1860 – November 26, 1943) was a Norwegian Lutheran clergyman, hymnwriter poet and author. Education and career Anders Karlsen Hovden was born at Ørsta in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. His parents were Karl Rasmussen Hovde ...

(1860–1943) a Norwegian Lutheran clergyman, hymnwriter poet and author * Njål Hole MBE (1914–1988) a Norwegian chemical engineer and nuclear physicist * Torbjørn Digernes (born 1947) a physicist and Professor of marine systems design * Kari Sørbø (born 1955) a Norwegian radio personality, brought up in Ørsta *

Eldar Sætre Eldar Sætre (born 8 February 1956) is a Norwegian businessman who since February 2015 is CEO of Equinor, holding the position interim from October 2014. Early life Sætre was born in Vartdal in Ørsta, son of a carpenter.Erlend Skarsaune (30 No ...

(born 1956) a Norwegian businessman, CEO of

Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...

Bjarte Engeset Bjarte Engeset (born 25 August 1958 in Ørsta) is a Norwegian classical conductor. Biography and career Bjarte Engeset studied music at the University of Georgia, Grieg Akademiet in Norway, and Sibelius Academy in Finland, in 1988, with Jorm ...

(born 1958) a Norwegian classical conductor *

Yngve Sætre Yngve Leidulv Sætre (born 13 May 1962 in Ørsta, Norway) is a Norwegian record producer, musician (vocals and keyboards). He worked as a record producer in Sigma Studio, before, together with Jørgen Træen, he started Duper Studio in Møhlenpri ...

(born 1962) a Norwegian record producer, musician on vocals and keyboard *

Marit Velle Kile Marit Velle Kile (born 13 November 1978) is a Norwegian actress appearing in film and television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a te ...

(born 1978) a Norwegian actress in film and on TV IMDb Database
retrieved 06 December 2020 *

Audun Ellingsen Audun Ellingsen (born 4 January 1979) is a Norwegian jazz musician (Upright bass) known from collaborations within bands like "Sphinx" and with musicians like Frøy Aagre, Erlend Slettevoll and Gisle Torvik. Career Ellingsen was born in Ørsta ...

(born 1979) a Norwegian jazz musician, plays upright bass *

Torgeir Standal Torgeir Hovden Standal (born 23 July 1990) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist. Career Standall was raised in Ørsta, nearby Ålesund but moved to Oslo in 2011. He soon met with Natalie Sandtorv and they started The Jist, a duo projects where the gu ...

(born 1990) a Norwegian jazz guitarist *

Vassendgutane Vassendgutane is a Norwegian country and danseband that have defined their own genre, 'party-country', a combination of the two. The band was formed in Ørsta in 1996, and have since released seven albums and two DVDs. Members *Sindre Aam – ...

(formed 1996) a Norwegian country and

danseband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...

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 ...

Official site of Ørsta Tourist BoardØrsta kommune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orsta Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1883 establishments in Norway