Skodje (''pronunciation'': kɔʏəor køʏə is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 the ...

. It was part of the Sunnmøre

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 an ...

. The administrative centre was the village of

Skodje Skodje (''pronunciation'': kɔʏəor køʏə is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre was the village of Skodje. The other main village in the municipality ...

. The other main village in the municipality was Valle. The European Route E39/ E136 highway runs through the municipality, connecting it to the nearby cities of

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrativ ...

and Molde. At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 365th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Skodje is the 211th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,680. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

is and its population has increased by 24.8% over the last decade.

General information

The municipality of Skodje was established in 1849 when it was separated from the large Borgund municipality. The initial population of Skodje was 2,170. On 1 January 1902, the northern district of Skodje was separated to form the new Vatne Municipality. This left Skodje with 1,551 residents. 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, there was a merger between

Stordal Municipality Stordal is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It merged with Norddal municipality to establish the new Fjord municipality in 2020. It was part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the ...

Ørskog Municipality Ørskog is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre was the village of Sjøholt. The other main village was Vaksvika, about south of Sjøholt. The European Route E ...

, and Skodje Municipality, creating a new, large Ørskog Municipality. This was merger was short-lived. On 1 January 1977, the merger was reversed all three municipalities were separated once again. This left the newly reconstituted Skodje Municipality with a population of 2,634. On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Skodje was merged with

Haram Municipality Haram is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative center was Brattvåg, the industrial center of Sunnmøre. Other important villages in the municipality included Austnes, ...

Sandøy Municipality Sandøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Romsdal region. The administrative centre was the village of Steinshamn. Other villages included Ona and Myklebost. The municipality was spread out over man ...

, and

Ålesund Municipality Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, County, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centr ...

to form one large municipality of Ålesund.

Name

The municipality (originally 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 ...

) is named after the old ''Skodje'' farm ( non, Sköðvin), since the first

Skodje Church Skodje Church ( no, Skodje kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Skodje. It is the church for the Skodje parish which is part of the Nordr ...

was built there. The meaning of the first element is unknown, but the last element is ''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 arti ...

" 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 sw ...

". Before 1879, the name was written ''Skoue''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 19 June 1987. The arms show the local

Skodje Bridge The Skodje Bridge ( no, Skodje bru) is a bridge that crosses the Skodjestraumen in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located south of the village of Tennfjord, west of Skodje, and northwest of Valle. There are ...

, a very old bridge which crosses over the Straumen river, a major architectural feat at its time.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish () within the municipality of Skodje. It is part of the Austre Sunnmøre prosti ( deanery) 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

The municipality of Skodje shares land borders with

to the north,

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 ...

to the northeast,

to the southeast, and

to the west. Across the Storfjorden to the south is Sykkylven Municipality. Skodje municipality is located on the mainland and also on part of the island of

Oksenøya Oksenøya or Uksenøya is an island in the Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located in Ålesund Municipality on the north side of the Storfjorden. Oksenøya has an area of and it has a population of 27,334 ( ...

, plus many small surrounding islands. The Ellingsøyfjorden cuts into the municipality from the west.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Skodje, 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 ...

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 ...

. The municipality falls under the

Sunnmøre District Court Sunnmøre District Court ( no, Sunnmøre tingrett) was a district court in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Ålesund. The court existed until 2021. It had jurisdiction over approximately the southern third of t ...

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 Skodje is made up of 21 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 featur ...

breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Economy

Skodje's economy is mostly based on

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 t ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

, but there is also

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

, and furniture-industry located there. Some industries have relocated from Ålesund to Skodje. Skodje has a young population, where 60% of the people are under the age of 40.

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway {{authority control Ålesund Former municipalities of Norway 1849 establishments in Norway 1965 disestablishments in Norway 1977 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places disestablished in 2020