Vanylven

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, and Myklebost.
The municipality is the 241st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vanylven is the 225th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,045. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 10.1% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Vanelven was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The spelling was later changed to Vanylven. On 1 February 1918, the area around the Syvdsfjorden (population: 1,260) was separated to become the new Syvde Municipality. This left Vanylven with 1,848 residents.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Syvde Municipality (population: 1,458) and the Rovdestranda area (population: 436) of Rovde Municipality were both merged into Vanylven Municipality. This gave Vanylven a new population of 3,897.
On 1 January 2002, the mainland Åram area north of Fiskåbygd (population: 380) was transferred from Sande Municipality to Vanylven Municipality.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Vanylvsfjorden. The meaning of the first element is uncertain, but it may come from the word or which mean "dark" or "colorless", which may refer to the occurrence of olivine in the area. The last element is which is frequently used in the Sunnmøre area in the names of fjords. It possibly comes from the word which means "low, wet terrain". Before 1889, the name was written "Vanelven", from 1889 to 1917 it was spelled "Vannelven", and since 1918 it has been spelled "Vanylven".
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 11 December 1987. The official blazon is "Vert, a pile embowed argent". This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a pile embowed (a triangle with curved sides). The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms are meant to show how the Vanylvsfjorden meets the sea, surrounded by the fertile green lands of Vanylven. The fertile lands and the sea which is full of herring are both important industries to the municipality which is why the colors green (land) and silver (sea) were chosen for the arms. The arms were designed by Jostein O. Mo. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes within the municipality of Vanylven. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.
Geography
Vanylven borders the municipalities of Sande and Herøy in the north (across the Rovdefjorden). Volda Municipality lies to the east; and the municipality of Stad (in Vestland county) is located to the south.
Vanylven is located on the mainland of Norway and it is surrounded by several fjords. The Vanylvsfjorden lies to the west and the Rovdefjorden to the north. The Syvdsfjorden cuts into the municipality from the north and it empties into the Rovdefjorden. The Syltefjorden branches off the main Vanylvsfjorden, just past the village of Fiskåbygd.
Government
All municipalities in Norway are 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality falls under the Møre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
The municipal council of Vanylven is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:
Mayors
The mayors of Vanylven:
1838–1839: Jon J. Sundal
1840–1843: Nicolai Christian Synnestvedt
1844–1855: Jon J. Sundal
1856–1859: Hans A. Thunem
1860–1863: Bern Krøvel
1864–1869: Samson Qviebakke
1870–1871: Bern Krøvel
1872–1875: Samson Qviebakke
1876–1877: Matias O. Thunem
1878–1879: Bernt S. Breiteig
1880–1895: Matias O. Thunem
1896–1901: Gerhard K. Fiskå
1902–1913: Kristian R. Sandnes
1914–1919: Ola Hellebust
1920–1925: Andreas M. Osnes
1926–1931: Petter I. Lien
1932–1934: John A. Aasen
1935–1937: Andreas M. Osnes
1938–1945: John A. Aasen
1945–1945: Sverre Nybø (H)
1946–1949: Knut Rønnestad
1950–1951: Knut A. Thunem
1952–1955: Anfinn M. Skorge
1956–1959: Einar Orten
1960–1961: Sverre Nybø (H)
1962–1963: Olav A. Aarø
1964–1965: Osnes
1966–1973: Ola Øvregård
1974–1975: Svein Thunem
1976–1983: Ragnar Vik
1984–1987: Jon Arne Lillebø (KrF)
1988–2003: Jon Aasen (Ap)
2003–2015: Jan Helgøy (KrF)
2015-present: Lena M. Landsverk Sande (V)
Notable people
Jacob Vidnes (1875 in Vanylven – 1940), a trade unionist, newspaper editor and politician
Marie Lovise Widnes (born 1930 in Vanylven), a poet, author, singer, composer and politician
Helge Simonnes (born 1955 in Vanylven), an editor and current editor-in-chief of Vårt Land
Else Mundal (born 1944 in Vanylven), a Norwegian philologist and academic
Maria Parr (born 1981 in Vanylven), a Norwegian children's writer
References
External links
Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
http://www.vanylven.kommune.no
Sunnmøre
Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal
1838 establishments in Norway