Sande, Møre og Romsdal
Sande is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Larsnes on the island of Gurskøya. Other villages in Sande include Gursken, Sandshamn, Bringsinghaug, and Voksa. The municipality is the 331st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sande is the 255th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,461. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 2.3% over the previous 10-year period. General information. Sande was established as a municipality  on 1 January 1867 when it was separated from the large Herøy Municipality. The initial population was 2,493. On 1 January 1873, a part of eastern Sande (with 362 residents) was transferred back to Herøy. On 1 January 1889, the Eksund area and the island of Ekø (population: 119) were transferred to Herøy Municipality. On 1 January 1905, the eastern district of Sande was separated to form the separate municipality of Rovde. This left Sande with 2,221 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964 , the northern part of the municipality of Rovde (population: 562) plus three farms in the Gurskedalen valley (population: 25) were merged back with Sande (the southern part of Rovde was merged with Vanylven Municipality). The new Sande municipality had a population of 3,465. On 1 January 2002, the Åram area (population: 380) on the mainland was transferred from Sande to Vanylven Municipality. Name. The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old "Sande" farm (), since the first Sande Church was built there. The name is identical with the word "sandr" which means "sand" or "sandy beach". Before 1892, the  name was written "Sandø". Coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted on 23 October 1987. The arms show a white or silver line buoy on a blue background. This symbol was chosen since it was historically used by fishermen in ocean and fjords around the island municipality. Churches. The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Sande. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. Geography. Sande is composed of many islands including Sandsøya, Kvamsøya, Voksa, Riste, and part of Gurskøya (which is shared with neighboring Herøy). The island  municipality sits north of the Rovdefjorden and east of the Vanylvsfjorden. The Haugsholmen Lighthouse sits in the southwest part of the municipality. Government. All municipalities in Norway, including Sande, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Søre Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal. Municipal council. The municipal council () of Sande is made up of 21 representatives that  are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: Mayor. The mayors of Sande (incomplete list):