Ørsta
The municipality is the 171st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ørsta is the 105th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,825. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.7% over the previous 10-year period. General information. The municipality of Ørsta was established on 1 August 1883 when it was separated from Volda Municipality. The initial population was 2,070. On 1 January 1893, the Ytrestølen farm (population: 13) was transferred from Ørsta to Volda. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to  the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Ørsta (population: 6,209) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Hjørundfjord (population: 1,728) and Vartdal (population: 1,315) to form a new, larger municipality of Ørsta. On 1 January 2020, the Bjørke and Leira areas of Ørsta were transferred to the neighboring Volda Municipality. Name. The municipality is named after the Ørstafjorden (). The meaning of the name is unknown. Before 1918, the name was written "Ørsten". Coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted on 13 July 1984. The arms consist of three white or silver diamonds  on a blue background. The three diamonds represent the mountains reflecting in the waters of the fjord. Museums. The Brudavoll Farm, part of the Sunnmøre Museum Foundation, is located about from the village of Ørsta. Churches. The Church of Norway has three parishes () within the municipality of Ørsta. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) 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, Ørstafjorden in the  west, and Hjørundfjorden in the east. Only in the south is it connected by land to neighbouring Volda Municipality. Otherwise, it borders the municipalities of Sula in the north, Hareid and Ulstein (by sea only) in the west, Sykkylven to the northeast, and Stranda 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 Møre og Romsdal county. Prolific peaks include Slogen at , Skårasalen at , Kolåstinden at , Ramoen at , Saudehornet at , and Romedalstinden at . Economy. Important sectors are mechanical industry and furniture manufacturing, agriculture , commercial fishing, and aquaculture. The first two are predominant in the village of Ørsta 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. All municipalities in Norway, including Ørsta, 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 Ørsta is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: Mayor. The mayors of Ørsta (incomplete list): Transportation. These include Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (Hovdebygda), which is the regional airport for people living in the municipalities Ørsta, Volda, Vanylven, Sande, Ulstein, Hareid and Herøy, and European Route E39 which transects the municipality in a north–south direction. Ørsta is linked to  Sula and Sykkylven by ferry on its northernmost extreme Festøy. It is also linked to Ulstein Municipality by the Eiksund Tunnel, an undersea tunnel that opened on 23 February 2008 that is, currently, the world's deepest at below the sea surface.