is a

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

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is part of the

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, ) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities () of Fjord, Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Sande, Haram, Stranda Mu ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Western Norway Western Norway (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the village of Ørsta. Other villages in the municipality include Barstadvik, Flåskjer, Follestaddalen, Hovdebygda, Liadal, Nordre Vartdal,

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

, Sæbø,

Trandal Trandal is a small village in the Hjørundfjorden area of Ørsta Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village has a population of approximately 17 people. Trandal is located along the Hjørundfjorden, midway between the villages o ...

, Urke, Vartdal, Ytre-Standal, Åmdalen, and Årset. The municipality is the 171st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Ørsta Municipality is the 106th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,958. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has increased by 4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

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

Volda Municipality Volda 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. The administrative centre is the Volda (village), village of Volda. Other v ...

. The initial population was 2,070. On 1 January 1893, the Ytrestølen farm (population: 13) was transferred from Ørsta Municipality to Volda Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, Ørsta Municipality (population: 6,209) was merged with

Hjørundfjord Municipality Hjørundfjord is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Ørsta Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnmøre. The administrati ...

(population: 1,728) and

Vartdal Municipality Vartdal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1895 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Ørsta Municipality in the Traditional distri ...

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

Bjørke Bjørke is a village in Volda Municipality in 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 lies ...

and Leira areas of Ørsta Municipality were transferred to the neighboring

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the

Ørstafjorden Ørstafjorden is a fjord in Ørsta Municipality in 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 Europ ...

(). The meaning of the fjord name is uncertain, but it may come from the word which means "raging" or "mad" (possibly referring to the water in the fjord). Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Ørsten''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Ørsta''.

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 13 July 1984. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''" Azure, three fusils in

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ', and charge on a coat of arms">Latin ' ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a blue

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a set of three fusils lined up horizontally. The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. 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 area, and is usually higher t ...

s reflecting in the waters of the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

. The arms were designed by Gudmund Nesset. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Museums

The Brudavoll Farm, part of the Sunnmøre Museum Foundation, is located about from the village of Ørsta.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

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

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the Diocese of Møre.

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,

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 Ørsta Municipality, although part of the mouth of the fjord lies in Sykkylven Municipality and the innermost ...

in the east.

lies to the south,

Hareid Municipality Hareid 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. The administrative centre is the Hareid (village), village of Hareid. The ...

and

Ulstein Municipality Ulstein 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. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is the town of Ulstei ...

are both across the fjord to the northwest,

Sula Municipality Sula () 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, district. The administrative centre is the village of Langevåg. Other villages ...

lies across the fjord to the north,

Sykkylven Municipality Sykkylven 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. The administrative centre is the village of Aure, Sykkylven, Aure. Othe ...

lies to the northeast, and

Stranda Municipality Stranda 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. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda, ...

lies 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. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Smørskredtindane. Other prolific peaks include Slogen at ,

Skårasalen Skårasalen is a mountain in Ørsta Municipality 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 the Bon ...

at ,

Kolåstinden Kolåstinden is a mountain in Ørsta Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The tall mountain is located where the Romedalen and Standaldalen valleys converge, about west of the village of Store-Standal and the Hjørundfjorden and it ...

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

Economy

Important sectors are mechanical industry and furniture manufacturing,

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, 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. Nelu ...

. The first two are predominant in the village of

Ørsta Ørsta may refer to: Places * Ørsta (village), an urban village area within Ørsta Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Ørsta Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, ...

while agriculture dominates in adjacent valleys like the Follestaddalen, Åmdalen, and Bondalen valleys. On the other hand, the northern part of the municipality has strong maritime traditions, with Vartdal being the home of one of the largest factory trawler fleets in Norway.

Government

Ørsta Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Møre og Romsdal District Court Møre og Romsdal District Court () was a district court located in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This court was based at four different courthouses which were located in Volda, Ålesund, Molde, and Kristiansund. The court was subordinate to t ...

and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal () 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. These areas constitute the ...

Municipal council

The

() of Ørsta Municipality is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

() of Ørsta Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: * 1883–1885: Hans A. Velle * 1886–1893: Sivert Nossen * 1894–1901: Jon I. Skare * 1902–1910: Lars A. Rebbestad * 1911–1916: Peder A. Moe * 1917–1934: Laurits N. Myklebust * 1935–1941: Otto N. Øye * 1941–1945: Hans Brungot * 1945–1945: Otto N. Øye * 1946–1951: Peter Kjeldseth Moe ( Ap) * 1952–1955: Martin B. Moe ( V) * 1956–1959: Ragnar Unhjem ( KrF) * 1960–1967: Pål Sandvik ( V) * 1968–1973: Jakob E. Øye ( Sp) * 1974–1979: Karsten Standal ( Sp) * 1980–1983: Oddmund Breiteig ( Ap) * 1984–1991: Sigbjørn Kvistad ( KrF) * 1992–2003: Nils Taklo ( Sp) * 2003–2007: Hans Olav Myklebust ( FrP) * 2007–2011: Gudny Fagerhol ( Ap) * 2011–2015: Rune Hovde ( H) * 2015–2023: Stein Aam ( Sp) * 2023–present: Per Are Sørheim ( H)

Transportation

Ørsta–Volda Airport Ørsta–Volda Airport (; ) is a regional airport situated at Hovden (Hovdebygda), in Ørsta Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, midway between the urban villages

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

transects the municipality in a north–south direction. Ørsta Municipality is linked to

and

by a ferry at Festøy, the northernmost point in Ørsta. It is also linked to

(and Hareid, Herøy, and Sande municipalities) by the

Eiksund Tunnel The Eiksund tunnel () 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 level, and was the d ...

, 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 l ...

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

Notable people

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 ...

(1813–1896), a Norwegian language

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

, playwright, and poet. * Anders Hovden (1860–1943), a Church of Norway clergyman, hymnwriter, poet, and author * Njål Hole (1914–1988), a chemical engineer and nuclear physicist * Torbjørn Digernes (born 1947), a physicist and professor of marine systems design * Kari Sørbø (born 1955), a radio personality who was brought up in Ørsta * Eldar Sætre (born 1956), a businessman and CEO of

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

* Bjarte Engeset (born 1958), a classical conductor * Odd Magne Gridseth (1959–2025), a jazz musician and composer *

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

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

Marit Velle Kile Marit Velle Kile (born 14 November 1978) is a Norwegian former actress appearing in film and television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a phy ...

(born 1978), an actress in film and on TV . Retrieved 06 December 2020. * Audun Ellingsen (born 1979), a jazz musician who plays upright bass * Torgeir Standal (born 1990), a jazz guitarist * Vassendgutane (formed 1996), a band that plays country and danseband music

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

Official site of Ørsta Tourist Board
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orsta Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1883 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1883