Volda is a 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, Norway. 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. 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 ...

is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include

Dravlaus Dravlaus is a village in the municipality of Volda 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 northern ...

Fyrde Fyrde is a village in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located at the end of the Austefjorden branch of the main Voldsfjorden. The new European route E39 highway runs past the village of Fyrde. The new long ...

Straumshamn Straumshamn is a village in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located at the southern end of the Kilsfjorden branch of the Voldsfjorden. The Bjørkedalen valley runs south from Straumshamn cutting between th ...

, Leira, Bjørke, and

Grodås Grodås is a village in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the river Horndøla on the eastern end of the lake Hornindalsvatnet, about southwest of the mountain Hornindalsrokken. The village si ...

. The municipality is located about south of the town of Ålesund. The municipality is the 132nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Volda is the 106th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,809. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of ''Volden'' was established 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). The original municipality was the same as the parish (

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

) of Volden, including the sub-parishes of Ørsta and Dalsfjord. On 1 August 1883, the sub-parish of Ørsta (population: 2,070) was separated from Volden to form a new municipality of its own. This left Volden with 3,485 residents. On 1 January 1893, the Ytrestølen farm in the Ørsta municipality (population: 13) was transferred to Volden municipality. In 1918, the name was changed from ''Volden'' to ''Volda''. On 1 July 1924, the sub-parish of Dalsfjord (population: 960) was separated from Volda to become a municipality of its own. This left Volda with 4,715 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Dalsfjord (population: 1,151) and Volda (population: 6,056) were merged back together. The new Volda municipality had 7,207 residents. On 1 January 2020, another large municipal border adjustment took place. The neighboring municipality of

Hornindal Hornindal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It existed from 1867 until 1965 and then again from 1977 until 2020. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative centre of the munici ...

(previously in Sogn og Fjordane county) and the Bjørke and Leira areas of Ørsta were merged with Volda to make a much larger Volda Municipality (in Møre og Romsdal county).

Name

The municipality is named after the Voldsfjorden (). The name is probably derived from an old word meaning " wave". (Compare with the german: Welle which means "wave".) Before 1918, the name was written ''Volden''.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was adopted in 2019 for use starting in 2020. The arms from 1987 were modified by adding two scythes on either side of the tip of a fountain pen. The scythes were taken from the old arms of the former

Hornindal Municipality Hornindal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It existed from 1867 until 1965 and then again from 1977 until 2020. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative centre of the munici ...

which joined Volda in 2020. The old arms were granted on 19 June 1987. The arms show a white- or silver-colored tip of a fountain pen on a blue background. This is a symbol for the long history of education in Volda. Volda komm 2020.svg, Current arms since 2020. Volda komm.svg, Arms in use from 1987 to 2019. Voldskyrkja

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 six parishes () within the municipality of Volda. 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

Volda's main geographical feature is the Voldsfjorden which branches off into the

Austefjorden The Austefjorden is a small fjord which branches off of the main Voldsfjorden in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The long fjord lies in the Sunnmørsalpene mountains about north of the mountain Eidskyrkja in the northe ...

, Kilsfjorden, and Dalsfjorden. It is also mountainous, particularly southeast of the fjords, with the Sunnmørsalpene mountains surrounding the region. The tall mountain

Eidskyrkja Eidskyrkja or Kyrkjefjellet is a mountain in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The mountain is located just north of the border between Møre og Romsdal county and Sogn og Fjordane county. The mountain is about south of th ...

is located in the southeastern part of the municipality. Volda is bordered by municipalities of:

Vanylven Municipality Vanylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Fiskåbygd. Other villages in the municipality include Åheim, Åram, Rovdane, Eidså, Slagnes ...

to the south-west/west; Herøy and Ulstein (only by sea) to the west; Ørsta to the north and east; and

Stryn Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of t ...

and Stad, in Vestland county, to the south. The dominant centre, both in terms of population and administration, is the village of Volda, in the northernmost part of the municipality. Other population concentrations include Mork, Ekset, Folkestad,

, Steinsvika, Lauvstad, Bjørkedal,

, and

. Some of the mountains in Volda include Hornindalsrokken,

Kvitegga Kvitegga is a mountain on the border between the municipalities of Stranda and Volda in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located about southeast of the village of Leira (in Volda) and about west of Hellesylt (in Stranda). The tall Kv ...

, and

Jakta Jakta is a tall mountain in the Sunnmørsalpene mountain range. It is located in the municipality of Ørsta in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Jakta lies south of the nearby mountain Slogen Slogen is a mountain rising up from Hjørundfjo ...

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Volda, 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 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, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the

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

and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Volda is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Volda (incomplete list): *1980–1988: Rasmus R. Aarflot ( Sp) *1988–2003: Knut Bere ( H) *2003–2011:

Ragnhild Aarflot Kalland Ragnhild Aarflot Kalland (born 4 September 1960) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. She served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal during the terms 2001–2005 and 2005–2009. On ...

( Sp) *2011–2015: Arild Iversen ( KrF) *2015–2019: Jørgen Amdam ( Ap) *2019–present: Sølvi Dimmen ( Sp)

Culture

Volda is primarily known for strong cultural heritage and academic traditions. A private library at Egset, the first rural of its kind in Norway, is said to have inspired the young Ivar Aasen in the 19th century. Martin Ulvestad, Norwegian–American author who published an English-Danish-Norwegian dictionary in 1895, (''Engelsk-Dansk-Norsk Ordbog med fuldstændig Udtalebetegnelse'') was born in Volda. The ''

Norsk Landboeblad ''Norsk Landboeblad'' was a former Norwegian newspaper published during the early 1800s. ''Norsk Landboeblad'' was published in the community of Volda in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. It had a circulation of 600, a considerable number at that time. ...

'' newspaper was based in Volda in the 1800s. ''Volda landsgymnas'' (established 1910) was the first Norwegian secondary school outside a major city. Among the most important institutions today is the Volda University College.

Volda University College Volda University College ( no, Høgskulen i Volda or HVO) is one of the no-tuition state institutions in the system of higher education in Norway. It is located in the town of Volda, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. History HVO was established ...

(HVO) is one of 25 university colleges in Norway. HVO, with an enrollment of about 3,000 students, specializes in education of teachers, animators, and journalists. This has attracted or incubated several animation companies to Volda, whose work is highlighted in the annual Animation Volda Festival, which started at HVO in 2007. HVO is host of the annual Norwegian Documentary Film Festival ( DOKFILM), which started in 1997. The national ski festival X2 is also held in Volda during April every year. The Volda TI sports club includes an association football team, whose home field is Volda Stadion. The football squad has consistently played in the

2. divisjon The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...

4. divisjon The Norwegian Fourth Division, also called 4. divisjon, is the fifth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from ...

leagues (tiers three to five of the Norwegian football league system) for a number of decades. As a logical consequence of the huge influx of students, as well as a county hospital, public services are by far the most dominant sector, representing almost 50% of economic life in Volda. Industry and agriculture are also prevalent. Bjørkedalen is noted for its tradition in building wooden boats. The

Sivert Aarflot Museum The Sivert Aarflot Museum ( no, Sivert Aarflot-museet) is a division of the Sunnmøre Museum Foundation in Norway. The museum is named after Sivert Aarflot (1759–1817), who among other things started the first rural printing shop in Norway. The ...

is located at Ekset in Volda. Volda and its environs are featured prominently in the film '' Troll Hunter'' (2010).

Transportation

The Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden, is located in neighbouring municipality of Ørsta, just north of the village of Volda. The

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 ...

highway passes north through the municipality on its way to the city of Ålesund. As noted, the municipality is criss-crossed by fjords; therefore, both Lauvstad and Folkestad are linked to the population centre Volda 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 ...

. In February 2008, the underwater Eiksund Tunnel connected the municipalities of Ulstein,

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 ...

, Herøy, and Sande to Ørsta and Volda. The tunnel is the deepest

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 ...

in the world. The

Kviven Tunnel The Kviven Tunnel ( no, Kvivstunnelen) is a long road tunnel through the mountain ''Kviven'', along the European route E39 highway. The tunnel is located in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The eastern end of the tunnel ...

was completed in 2012, connecting

to the village of

to the south on the other side of a large mountain. This tunnel led to the old

joining Volda in 2020.

Notable residents

* Martin Ulvestad (1865–1942) Norwegian-American historian and philologist *

Peter Olai Thorvik Peter Olai Thorvik (2 July 1873 – 16 August 1965) was a Norwegian blacksmith, fisherman, banker and politician. Biography Thorvik was born in Volda on 2 July 1873, to Sivert Peter Andersen Thorvik and Berthe Johanne Olsdatter Brune. He m ...

(1873–1965) a blacksmith, fisherman, banker and politician * Inger Hagerup (1905–1985) an author, playwright and poet; lived in Volda * Dag Frøland (1945–2010) a comedian, revue artist, singer and impersonator IMDb Database
retrieved 16 February 2021 *

Ottar Grepstad Ottar Grepstad (born 1 October 1953) is a Norwegian Nynorsk writer. He was born in Øyer. In the 1970s he was the leader of the Young Liberals of Norway for a period. From 1984 to 1988 he edited the periodical ''Syn og Segn''. He worked in Det No ...

(born 1953) a Norwegian Nynorsk writer, lives in Volda *

Olav Rune Ekeland Bastrup Olav Rune Ekeland Bastrup (born 4 September 1956, in Volda) is a Norwegian writer and historian. He has published numerous books on social history subjects such as the use of eugenics in Scandinavia and the Norwegian roma-minority. He spoke at ...

(born 1956) a Norwegian writer and historian *

(born 1960) a local politician, Mayor of Volda 2003-2011 *

Frode Grodås Frode Grodås (born 24 October 1964) is a Norwegian football coach and former national team goalkeeper originally from Hornindal in Sogn og Fjordane. Capped 50 times for his country, he participated at the 1998 FIFA World Cup as well as being an ...

(born 1964) a football goalkeeper with over 250 club caps and 50 for Norway * Simone Eriksrud (born 1970) musician, composer and lead vocalist with D'Sound *

Asbjørn Blokkum Flø Asbjørn Blokkum Flø (born 6 May 1973 in Volda) is a Norwegian composer, musician and sound artist. He studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with Lasse Thoresen, Asbjørn Schaathun and Ivar Frounberg. He writes chamber mu ...

(born 1973) a Norwegian composer, musician and sound artist *

Beate S. Lech Beate Slettevoll Lech (born 10 April 1974 in Volda, Møre og Romsdal, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz singer, composer and lyricist in modern jazz and related music, raised in Øvre Årdal, Sogn og Fjordane. She grew up in Volda, Møre og Romsdal ...

(born 1974) jazz vocalist and lead singer of Beady Belle *

Erlend Slettevoll Erlend Slettevoll (born 26 October 1981) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, known from cooperation with musicians like Ola Kvernberg, Petter Wettre, Heidi Skjerve, Kjetil Møster, Steinar Raknes and Espen Aalberg. Career Slettevoll was born in Vold ...

(born 1981) a Norwegian jazz pianist *

Jon Georg Dale Jon Georg Dale (born 16 June 1984) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 2018 to 2020 and Minister of Agriculture and Food from 2015 to 2018. He was also acting Minister of Ju ...

(born 1984), Progress Party politician and former minister * Ørjan Håskjold Nyland (born 1990) a football goalkeeper with over 200 club caps and 28 for Norway

Gallery

File:MF Høgsfjord utenfor Volda fergekai.jpg, MF Høgsfjord utenfor Volda fergekai File:Sivert Aarflot-museet i Volda 2.jpg, Sivert Aarflot-museet i Volda 2 File:Fjellnabben Galten i Dalsfjorden.jpg, Fjellnabben Galten i Dalsfjorden File:Eikrem - panoramio (1).jpg, Eikrem

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 website

Website about Volda

Weather forecast for Volda
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1838 establishments in Norway