Sunndal

Sunndal  is a municipality in the Nordmøre region located in the northeast part of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Sunndalsøra. Other villages include Gjøra, Grøa, Hoelsand, Jordalsgrenda, Romfo, Ålvund, Ålvundeidet, and Øksendalsøra. With an area of 1,713 square kilometres (661 sq mi), it is the largest municipality in Møre og Romsdal county. The important occupations in Sunndal include industry (with Hydro Aluminium Sunndal as the biggest employer), public services, retail, and farming.

Sunndal kommune
Municipality
View of the Øksendal valley
Coat of arms Møre og Romsdal within Norway
Sunndal within Møre og Romsdal
Coordinates: 62°36′46″N 08°38′03″E
Country	Norway
County	Møre og Romsdal
District	Nordmøre
Established	1 Jan 1838
Administrative centre	Sunndalsøra
Government
• Mayor (2009)	Ståle Refstie (Ap)
Area
• Total	1,713.37 km^2 (661.54 sq mi)
• Land	1,647.99 km^2 (636.29 sq mi)
• Water	65.38 km^2 (25.24 sq mi)  3.8%
Area rank	47 in Norway
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,036
• Rank	140 in Norway
• Density	4.3/km^2 (11/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−3.5%
Demonym(s)	Sunndaling[1]
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1563
Official language form	Neutral[2]
Website	sunndal.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

The 1,713-square-kilometre (661 sq mi) municipality is the 47th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway and it is the largest in Møre og Romsdal county. Sunndal is the 140th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,036. The municipality's population density is 4.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (11/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period.[3][4]

General information

View of Giklingdalshytta in Innerdalen

The parish of Sunndal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1854, the northern part of the municipality (population: 1,291) was separated to form the new municipality of Øksendal. This left 2,188 residents in Sunndal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the neighboring municipalities of Ålvundeid (population: 513) and Øksendal (population: 497) were merged with Sunndal (population: 5,851) to form a new, larger Sunndal municipality. Both Ålvundeid and Øksendal were historically part of the municipality before 1854. Then, on 1 January 1965, the Ålvund-Ålvundfjord area of the neighboring Stangvik Municipality (population: 508) was transferred to Sunndal.[5]

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Sunndalr. The first element is sunnr which means "southern" and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Before 1870, the name was written Sunddalen (or Sunndalen); during the period from 1870–1917, it was spelled Sundalen; and since 1918, it has been spelled Sunndal.[6]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 12 April 1983. The arms show a Norwegian wormwood (Artemisia norvegica) plant in white on a green background. This species has its main European distribution in Sunndal and Oppdal in the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park and in Trollheimen landscape protected area. Small populations also in Ryfylke, Scotland, and the Ural Mountains, with another subspecies in the mountains of Northern America. It can be found in abundance in many places in the mountains of Sunndal well above tree line.[7][8]

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Sunndal. It is part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Churches in Sunndal

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Hov	Hov Church	Sunndalsøra	1887
Romfo	Romfo Church	Romfo	1821
	Gjøra Chapel	Gjøra	1935
Øksendal	Øksendal Church	Øksendalsøra	1894
Ålvundeid	Ålvundeid Church	Ålvundeidet	1848

Geography

View of the Jordalsgrenda area

Sunndal is bordered on the west by Nesset Municipality and Tingvoll Municipality, on the north by Surnadal Municipality, on the east by Oppdal Municipality (in Trøndelag county) and on the south by Lesja Municipality (in Oppland county).

In the southern part of the municipality lies the Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park, home to a plentiful amount of impressive muskox. In the northern part is the Trollheimen and Innerdalen landscape protection areas.

The municipality centers around the Sunndalsfjorden and the river Driva. There are also many towering mountains including: Trolla, Storskrymten, Vinnufjellet (with peaks Dronningkrona and Kongskrona), Innerdalstårnet, Salhøa, Såtbakkollen, Skarfjellet, and Vassnebba. The Vinnufossen and Svøufallet waterfalls both lie near the river Driva.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sunndal, 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.[9] The municipality falls under the Nordmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sunndal is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Sunndal Kommunestyre 2020–2023 [10]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Green Party (Miljøpartiet De Grønne)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		27

Sunndal Kommunestyre 2016–2019 [11]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	15
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		27

Sunndal Kommunestyre 2012–2015 [12]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	16
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		27

Sunndal Kommunestyre 2008–2011 [11]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	12
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	4
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		27

Sunndal Kommunestyre 2004–2007 [11]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	5
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		27

Sunndal Kommunestyre 2000–2003 [11]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1996–1999 [13]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	20
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1992–1995 [14]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1988–1991 [15]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1984–1987 [16]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	18
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1980–1983 [17]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	17
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1976–1979 [18]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Free Candidates List (Frie Kandidaters Liste)	1
	Sunndal Free Voters Independent List (Sunndal Frie Velgeres Uavhengige Liste)	1
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1972–1975 [19]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	7
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1968–1971 [20]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	21
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Kommunestyre 1964–1967 [21]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	21
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Herredsstyre 1960–1963 [22]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	20
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
Total number of members:		37

Sunndal Herredsstyre 1956–1959 [23]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	15
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	8
Total number of members:		25

Sunndal Herredsstyre 1952–1955 [24]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	7
Total number of members:		16

Sunndal Herredsstyre 1948–1951 [25]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	10
Total number of members:		16

Sunndal Herredsstyre 1945–1947 [26]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	11
Total number of members:		16

Sunndal Herredsstyre 1938–1941* [27]  

Party Name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	7
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	5
Total number of members:		16

Mayor

The mayors of Sunndal (incomplete list):

• 2009–present: Ståle Refstie (Ap)
• 2007-2009: Tove-Lise Torve (Ap)
• 2003-2007: Knut Reinset (Sp)
• 1988-2003: Jan Silseth (Ap)
• 1959-1973: Oskar Edøy (Ap)

Tor Erik Jenstad, 2012

Notable people

Andrine Hegerberg, 2018

Ada Hegerberg, 2017

• Barbara Arbuthnott (1822–1904) a Scottish woman who lived in Sunndal where she engaged in charitable work and wrote about her life
• Hagbard Emanuel Berner (1839 in Sunndal – 1920) a jurist, politician and newspaper editor
• Nils Sletbak (1896 in Sunndal – 1982) a Norwegian jurist and theatre director
• Oskar Edøy (1916–2008) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Sunndal municipality 1959-1973
• Einar Sæter (1917 in Øksendal – 2010) a Norwegian triple jumper, resistance member, newspaper editor and writer
• Tor Erik Jenstad (born 1956 in Sunndal) a linguist, dictionary editor and traditional Norwegian folk musician
• Tove-Lise Torve (born 1964 in Sunndalsøra) a nurse and politician, Mayor of Sunndal municipality 2007-2009

Sport

• Tor Erik Torske (born 1983) a footballer with 275 club caps
• Andrine Hegerberg (born 1993 in Sunndalsøra) a Norwegian footballer
• Guro Reiten (born 1994 in Sunndalsøra) a Norwegian footballer
• Ada Hegerberg (born 1995) a Norwegian footballer, brought up in Sunndalsøra

References

1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
3. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
4. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
5. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
6. Rygh, Oluf (1908). Norske gaardnavne: Romsdals amt (in Norwegian) (13 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 388.
7. "Kommunevåpen Sunndal" (in Norwegian). Sunndal Kommune. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
8. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
9. Hansen, Tore, ed. (2016-05-12). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
10. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Møre og Romsdal" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
11. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
12. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Møre og Romsdal" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
13. "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
14. "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
15. "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
16. "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
17. "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
18. "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
19. "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
20. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
21. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
22. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
23. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
24. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
25. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
26. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
27. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 2020-04-26.

External links

• Media related to Sunndal at Wikimedia Commons
• Møre og Romsdal travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Sunndalsnett (in Norwegian)
• Culture in Sunndal on the map from Kulturnett.no (in Norwegian)
• Sunndal kommune (Municipality of Sunndal) (in Norwegian)