Borgund is a former municipality in

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,

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1968. The area is now part of

Ålesund Municipality 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 administrative ce ...

in the traditional district of

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 ...

. 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 was at Borgund, near the church, along the Nørvasundet strait. Borgund originally encompassed the large area north of the Storfjorden and south of the Grytafjorden, from the mainland areas in the eastern part of today's

to the islands of today's

Giske Municipality Giske is an island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality lies north-northwest of the Ålesund (town), town of Ålesund in the Districts of Norway, traditional distr ...

and the ocean in the west. The city of

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

was located in the central part of Borgund, however, the city itself was not part of Borgund, and it was governed separately. At its dissolution in 1968, Borgund Municipality included the islands of Sula, Humla, Tørla, and

Ellingsøya Ellingsøya is a island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. With an area of , Ellingsøya is the second largest island in the municipality after Uksenøya. The island is located northeast of the town of Ålesund, north o ...

, as well as parts of

Uksenøya 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 (in 2015). This ...

, Hessa, and

Nørve Nørve (or ''Nørvøya'') is an island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is the largest of the islands containing the city center of Ålesund, the others being Aspøya and Hessa, located to the west. The island o ...

, plus many minor islands throughout the area. The main church for the municipality was

Borgund Church Borgund Church () 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 Borgund, just east of the city of Ålesund. It is the church for the Borgund parish whic ...

, located at Borgund (on the western tip of

). Prior to its dissolution in 1968, the municipality was the 351st largest by area out of the 454 municipalities in Norway. Borgund Municipality was the 28th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 19,516. 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 ...

was and its population had increased by 27.5% over the previous 10-year period.

History

Establishment

The municipality of Borgund was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). According to the 1835 census, the municipality had a population of 3,754. In 1849, Borgund Municipality was divided into two parts: the eastern district including the parts on the mainland and the eastern part of

island (population: 2,170) become the new

Skodje Municipality Skodje ( or ) is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1849 until its dissolution in 2020 (except for a short time from 1965-1977). The area is now part o ...

and the western island district (population: 4,461) remained as a smaller Borgund Municipality. On 1 January 1908, the islands of

Giske Giske may refer to: Places *Giske Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (island), a island within Giske Municpiality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (village), a village within Giske Municpiality in Møre ...

, Godøya, and Valderøya in western Borgund (population: 1,708) were separated from the municipality to become the new

. The now smaller Borgund Municipality then had a population of 6,734. On 1 January 1916, a minor border adjustment took place were a small part of

(population: 14) was transferred into Borgund Municipality. On 1 July 1958, a small part of

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 ...

on the island of Sula, with 68 inhabitants, was transferred into Borgund 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 1965, the northern part of Borgund Municipality (including the Gamlem, Søvik, and Grytastranda areas on the mainland and the islands of Bjørnøya, Terøya, and many small islands around them) with 1,191 inhabitants, was administratively transferred into the neighboring

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

to the north.

Incorporation into Ålesund

As part of the

's report, it was recommended to merge

and Borgund. There was considerable debate on the incorporation into Ålesund and on what to name the new, larger municipality. The

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 Borgund Municipality opposed its own incorporation into Ålesund as worked out by the

. However, when the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

agreed to the incorporation, Borgund's municipal council passed a resolution that the new municipality be named Borgund instead of Ålesund. The case went to the

Government of Norway The Council of State () is a formal body composed of the most senior government minister (government), ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of Norway, Prime Minister, and functions as the collective decision-making organ constituting the Go ...

, who drafted a resolution that the name Ålesund should be kept. In the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

of 10 March 1967, the

cabinet Borten Borten's Cabinet governed Norway between 12 October 1965 and 17 March 1971. The cabinet was led by Per Borten and consisted of the Conservative Party of Norway, Conservative Party, the Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party, the Liberal Party (Norway ...

agreed to this, except for

Per Borten (3 April 1913 – 20 January 2005) was a Norway, Norwegian politician from the Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party and the prime minister of Norway from 1965 to 1971. Per Borten is credited for leading the modernization of what was then named Bo ...

, Kjell Bondevik,

Bjarne Lyngstad Bjarne Lyngstad (9 January 1901 – 4 September 1971) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was born in Inderøy Municipality. From August to September 1963 he served as the Minister of Local Government and Work Affairs during ...

, and Dagfinn Vårvik who formally dissented—to no avail. The name Ålesund was recommended, and the Norwegian Parliament passed it. On 1 January 1968, Borgund Municipality (population: 20,132) ceased to exist when it was merged with the town of Ålesund (population: 18,457), creating the new

. It was the most populous municipality in Møre og Romsdal at the time. On 1 January 1977, the island of Sula (previously a part of Borgund), was separated from Ålesund Municipality to constitute the new

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 ...

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 old ''Borgund'' farm () since the first

was built there. The first element is which means "

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

" or "fortified place". The last element is the suffix which means "rich" or "having a lot of something".

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 ...

had one parish () within Borgund Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Borgund

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 ...

and the Nordre 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 Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

Geography

At the time of its dissolution, Borgund Municipality included the islands of Sula, Humla, Tørla, and

, as well as parts of

, Hessa, and

, plus many minor islands throughout the area. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Vardane on the island of Sula.

and

Vigra Municipality Vigra is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1890 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Giske Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnmøre. The administrative centr ...

were located to the west,

was located to the north, and

Vatne Municipality Vatne is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1965. The municipality included land and islands surrounding the Midfjorden and Vatnefjorden in what is now part of H ...

and

were located to the east.

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 ...

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 ...

were located to the south across the Storfjorden.

Government

While it existed, Borgund Municipality was 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 was governed by a

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 ...

was

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 was under the jurisdiction of 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 Borgund was made up of 41 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the 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 Borgund was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: * 1838–1843: Ferdinand A. Hagerup * 1843–1845: Ludvig Daae * 1846–1852: Rasmus Arnet * 1853–1857: E. Vaagaard * 1858–1858: Ludvig Daae * 1872–1893: Colben Aase * 1893–1895: Johan Nilsen Hoff * 1896–1913: Carsten Aase * 1914–1919: L. Nørve * 1919–1922:

Hans Ingvald Hansen Ratvik Hans Ingvald Hansen Ratvik (27 January 1883 – 6 June 1966) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party of Norway, Liberal Party. He was born in Borgund Municipality (Møre og Romsdal), Borgund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal, Romsdalen ...

( V) * 1923–1925: Martinus Kalvøy * 1926–1937: Hans Martinusen Blomvik * 1937–1940:

( V) * 1945–1945:

( V) * 1946–1947: K. Rødstøl * 1948–1967: Oddmund Sandvik7

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borgund Municipality, More og Romsdal Ålesund Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1968 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 1968