# Valsøyfjord Municipality

Valsøyfjord is a former municipality that was located in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The 156-square-kilometre (60 sq mi) municipality existed from 1894 until 1965. The municipality included the land surrounding the Valsøyfjorden and its entrance at the Arasvikfjorden in the present-day Aure Municipality (in Møre og Romsdal county) and Heim Municipality (in Trøndelag county). The main church for the municipality, Valsøyfjord Church was located in the village of Valsøyfjord. The administrative centre was the village of Engan. Other villages in the municipality included Arasvika, Valsøybotn, and Hjellnes.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the 155.3-square-kilometre (60.0 sq mi) municipality was the 367th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Valsøyfjord Municipality was the 469th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,262. The municipality's population density was 8.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (21/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 11.7% over the previous 10-year period.

## General information

The municipality of Valsøyfjord was established on 1 January 1894 when the larger Aure Municipality was divided into two municipalities: Aure Municipality (population: 3,245) in the north and Valsøyfjord Municipality (population: 942) in the south. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Valsøyfjord Municipality was abolished and its land was divided between two neighboring municipalities. The parts of Valsøyfjord Municipality on the island of Ertvågøya (population: 141) was merged with Aure Municipality and the rest of Valsøyfjord Municipality (population: 1,104) was merged with Halsa Municipality.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Valsøyfjorden (Old Norse: Vallangr). The fjord is named after the island of Valsøya (Old Norse: Vallangsøy) which is located in the mouth of the fjord. The first element of both names comes from vǫllr which means "meadow" or "flat ground". The last element of the island's name is øy which means "island". The last element of the old fjord name is angr which means "fjord". Thus, Valsøyfjord means something like the "meadow island fjord". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Valsøfjorden. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Valsøyfjord, adding a "y" and removing the definite form ending -en.

### Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Valsøyfjord Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Aure prestegjeld and the Sør-Fosen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Churches in Valsøyfjord :
| Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Valsøyfjord | Valsøyfjord Church | Valsøyfjord | 1864 |

## Geography

Valsøyfjord Municipality included a small part of island of Ertvågøya and the whole island of Valsøya as well areas on the mainland. The municipality surrounded the Valsøyfjorden as well as land on Ertvågøya on the north side of the Arasvikfjorden. The highest point in the municipality was the 977.8-metre (3,208 ft) tall mountain Hjelmen on the border with Halsa Municipality and Åsskard Municipality.

## Government

While it existed, Valsøyfjord Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Frostating Court of Appeal.

### Municipal council

The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Valsøyfjord was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Valsøyfjord heradsstyre 1963–1964 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 11 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Valsøyfjord heradsstyre 1959–1963 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 10 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 4 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 1 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Valsøyfjord heradsstyre 1955–1959 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 10 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Valsøyfjord heradsstyre 1951–1955 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 9 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 2 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 5 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Valsøyfjord heradsstyre 1947–1951 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 10 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 4 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 1 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Valsøyfjord heradsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 10 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 2 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Valsøyfjord heradsstyre 1937–1941* :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 9 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 5 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
| Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. |||

### Mayors

The mayor (Nynorsk: ordfører) of Valsøyfjord was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:
* 1894–1895: Arnt Andersen Todal
* 1896–1897: Eisten L. Fjærli (V)
* 1898–1899: Johannes Jacobsen Valsø
* 1900–1900: Peder Andersen Todal
* 1901–1901: Johannes Jacobsen Valsø
* 1902–1903: Arent Todal
* 1904–1913: Johannes Jacobsen Valsø
* 1913–1916: Augustinus T. Hestnes (Ap)
* 1916–1928: Nils Johansen Hestnes (V)
* 1929–1942: Lars Sandnes (Ap)
* 1942–1945: Gjert Valsø (NS)
* 1945–1945: Lars Sandnes (Ap)
* 1945–1964: Marius A. Wæge (Ap)

## Media gallery

* Old municipal government house in Engan
* View of the Valsøyfjorden
* Valsøyfjord Church
* Valsøyfjord Church
* Valsøyfjord power station