Midsund 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 t ...

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 countries, 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 ...

. It was part of the

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 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 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 ...

was the village of Midsund on Otrøya island. Other settlements on the island included Uglvik and Raknes in the north and Nord-Heggdal in the southeast. The municipality consisted of many islands. The main islands were Otrøya,

Midøya Midøya (sometimes called ''Mia'') is an island in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island sits at the entrance to the Romsdalsfjorden between the islands of Dryna and Otrøya. Until 1965, the island was divided between ...

, and Dryna, as well as the smaller populated islands of Magerøya and Tautra—both are less than . There were also many tiny uninhabited islands and skerries. The islands all sit at the mouth of the great

Romsdalsfjord Romsdalsfjord or Romsdal Fjord ( no, Romsdalsfjorden) is the ninth-longest fjord in Norway. It is long and located in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county. It flows through the municipalities of Molde, Ålesund, Vestnes, and Rauma ...

. At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 384th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Midsund is the 323rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,049. 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 RosenberPopu ...

is and its population has increased by 7.8% over the last decade.

General information

The municipality of Midsund was established on 1 January 1965 when the old municipality of

Sør-Aukra Sør-Aukra is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Sør Aukra Municipality existed from 1924 until 1965 when it was merged into Midsund Municipality (now part of Molde Municipality). The municipality consisted of the entir ...

(population: 1,912) was merged with part of

island and the neighboring island of Dryna (population: 334) which were part of the old Vatne Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Midsund was merged into the neighboring Molde Municipality, along with the municipality of Nesset. Together, the new Molde Municipality is significantly larger.

Name

The municipality is named after the

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

that flows between the

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 isla ...

s of Otrøya and

, the ''Midsundet'' ( non, Miðjusund). The first element of the name ''Miðja'' means "middle" and the second element ''sund'' means "strait" or "sound".

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 15 May 1987. The arms show two silver

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

s on a blue background, representing Otrøya and Midøya islands in the ocean. These two main islands in the municipality are separated by a small strait, the Midsund. The geographical situation is symbolised in the arms.

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 ...

had one parish () within the municipality of Midsund. It is part of the

Molde domprosti 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 ...

(arch-

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 reside ...

) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography

The islands of Midsund Municipality are separated from the mainland by the wide

Julsundet Julsundet is a long strait connecting the Norwegian Sea to the Romsdalsfjorden. The strait is located about west of the town of Molde in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The strait runs through the municipalities of Fræna, Aukra, Molde, a ...

strait to the east and the wide Midfjorden to the south. To the north are many smaller islands including Gossa (in

Aukra Municipality Aukra is municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Falkhytta, which is part of the Aukrasanden urban area. The municipality is made up of the island of ...

) and

Harøya Harøya is a swampy island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. At , it is the largest island in the municipality. The island is located between the islands of Finnøya (to the northeast) and Fjørtofta (to the southwest ...

, Sandøya, and Orta (in Sandøy Municipality). To the west lie the islands of Fjørtofta, Skuløya, and Haramsøya (in Haram Municipality). The three largest islands of the community lie in a line from ENE to WSW ( Otrøya,

, and Dryna). The island of

Magerøya Magerøya ( sme, Máhkarávju) is a large island in Troms og Finnmark county, in the extreme northern part of Norway. The island lies along the Barents Sea in Nordkapp Municipality, just north of the Porsanger Peninsula. The mouth of Porsanger ...

lies between Midøya and Otrøya and a bridge connects it to the latter. Tautra lies in the Moldefjorden, southeast of Otrøya. Otrøya is the main island of the community, measuring about from east to west. The southern coasts of Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna rise from the fjord as sheer tall cliffs. At Oppstad, the cliff is feared to collapse, which would cause a small

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

in the Moldefjorden. On the southern coast of Otrøya the following small villages can be found: (from east to west) Solholmen, Nord-Heggdal, Oppstad, Sør-Heggdal, and Klauset. The north has the following villages: (east to west) Ræstad, Rakvåg, Tangen, Raknes, and Uglvik. On the western side of Otrøya, facing the bay that separates it from Midøya, lies the village of Midsund, the largest settlement in the community. The

Midsund Bridge The Midsund Bridge ( no, Midsundbrua) is a reinforced concrete arch bridge that crosses the Midsundet strait between the islands of Otrøya and Midøya in Molde Municipality, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The bridge runs between the village ...

connects it with Midøya. Dryna and Midøya are also connected with a bridge. Ferries run between the islands and the mainland. There is a ferry from Solholmen across the

to Molde Municipality and from the island of Dryna to the village of Brattvåg (in Haram Municipality). The larger three islands' interior is wilderness, but the rims are used for keeping cattle and small farming.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Midsund, 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 ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

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 refe ...

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 adminis ...

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 o ...

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 Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Midsund is made up of 17 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 featu ...

breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Demographics

The municipality had 1,939 inhabitants (January 2005), with 50.3% male. The percentage of people older than 67 is 18.3%. Unemployment is 2.3%. Population growth is stable. Most inhabitants are fishers or small farmers.

Media

The newspaper '' Øyavis'' was published in Midsund from 1983 to 2016.Bjerkeland, Øystein. 2016. Øyavis legges trolig ned. ''Romsdals Budstikke'' (March 9).
/ref>

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 ye ...

{{authority control Molde Former municipalities of Norway 1965 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places disestablished in 2020