Midsund is a former municipality in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is t ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It was part of the

Romsdal Romsdal is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Norway, Rauma, Sandøy, and V ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

was the village of Midsund on

Otrøya Otrøya (sometimes called ''Otterøya'' or ''Otrøy'') is the largest island in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island sits at the entrance to Romsdalsfjord, west of the island of Midøya and east of the mainland Romsd ...

island. Other settlements on the island included Uglvik and Raknes in the north and Nord-Heggdal in the southeast. The municipality consisted of many islands. The main islands were

Midøya Midøya (sometimes called ''Mia'') is an island in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island sits at the entrance to the Romsdalsfjorden between the islands of Dryna and Otrøya. Until 1965, the island was divided betwe ...

, and

Dryna Dryna is an island in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is the westernmost of the main islands in the municipality. The island sits between the Harøyfjorden and the Midfjorden, at the entrance to the great Romsdalsfjor ...

, as well as the smaller populated islands of Magerøya and Tautra—both are less than . There were also many tiny uninhabited islands and skerries. The islands all sit at the mouth of the great

Romsdalsfjord Romsdalsfjord or Romsdal Fjord ( no, Romsdalsfjorden) is the ninth-longest fjord in Norway. It is long and located in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county. It flows through the municipalities of Molde, Ålesund, Vestnes, and Rauma. T ...

. At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 384th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Midsund is the 323rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,049. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 7.8% over the last decade.

General information

The municipality of Midsund was established on 1 January 1965 when the old municipality of

Sør-Aukra Sør-Aukra is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Sør Aukra Municipality existed from 1924 until 1965 when it was merged into Midsund Municipality (now part of Molde Municipality). The municipality consisted of the entir ...

(population: 1,912) was merged with part of

island and the neighboring island of

(population: 334) which were part of the old Vatne Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Midsund was merged into the neighboring

Molde Municipality Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the ...

, along with the municipality of

Nesset Nesset is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway on the Romsdal Peninsula. The administrative centre was the village of Eidsvåg. Other population centers included Rausand, Boggestranda, Myklebostad, Eresfjord, and Eikesda ...

. Together, the new Molde Municipality is significantly larger.

Name

The municipality is named after the strait that flows between the

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

s of

and

, the ''Midsundet'' ( non, Miðjusund). The first element of the name ''Miðja'' means "middle" and the second element ''sund'' means "strait" or "sound".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was granted on 15 May 1987. The arms show two silver

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colli ...

s on a blue background, representing Otrøya and Midøya islands in the ocean. These two main islands in the municipality are separated by a small strait, the Midsund. The geographical situation is symbolised in the arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

had one parish () within the municipality of Midsund. It is part of the Molde domprosti (arch-

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the

Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative cent ...

Geography

The islands of Midsund Municipality are separated from the mainland by the wide Julsundet strait to the east and the wide Midfjorden to the south. To the north are many smaller islands including Gossa (in

Aukra Municipality Aukra is municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Falkhytta, which is part of the Aukrasanden urban area. The municipality is made up of the island of ...

) and Harøya, Sandøya, and

Orta Orta may refer to: Places *Orta, Møre og Romsdal, an island in Aukra, Norway * Orta, Çankırı, a district of Çankırı Province, Turkey *Orta, a town near Rome which, in medieval contexts, may also be called Orte *Lake Orta, in north Italy * Or ...

(in

Sandøy Municipality Sandøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Romsdal region. The administrative centre was the village of Steinshamn. Other villages included Ona and Myklebost. The municipality was spread out over ma ...

). To the west lie the islands of Fjørtofta, Skuløya, and Haramsøya (in

Haram Municipality Haram is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative center was Brattvåg, the industrial center of Sunnmøre. Other important villages in the municipality included Austnes, ...

). The three largest islands of the community lie in a line from ENE to WSW (

, and

). The island of

Magerøya Magerøya ( sme, Máhkarávju) is a large island in Troms og Finnmark county, in the extreme northern part of Norway. The island lies along the Barents Sea in Nordkapp Municipality, just north of the Porsanger Peninsula. The mouth of Porsanger ...

lies between Midøya and Otrøya and a bridge connects it to the latter.

Tautra Tautra is an island in the municipality of Frosta in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the Trondheimsfjord, just north of the city of Trondheim. The island is connected to the rest of Frosta by a long causeway bridge. The island is ...

lies in the

Moldefjorden The Moldefjorden is a fjord in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is a long branch off of the main Romsdal Fjord. The fjord begins at the Julsundet strait (in the west) and heads east, past the city of Molde, then it c ...

, southeast of Otrøya. Otrøya is the main island of the community, measuring about from east to west. The southern coasts of Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna rise from the fjord as sheer tall cliffs. At Oppstad, the cliff is feared to collapse, which would cause a small

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

in the Moldefjorden. On the southern coast of Otrøya the following small villages can be found: (from east to west) Solholmen, Nord-Heggdal, Oppstad, Sør-Heggdal, and Klauset. The north has the following villages: (east to west) Ræstad, Rakvåg, Tangen, Raknes, and Uglvik. On the western side of Otrøya, facing the bay that separates it from Midøya, lies the village of Midsund, the largest settlement in the community. The

Midsund Bridge The Midsund Bridge ( no, Midsundbrua) is a reinforced concrete arch bridge that crosses the Midsundet strait between the islands of Otrøya and Midøya in Molde Municipality, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The bridge runs between the village o ...

connects it with Midøya. Dryna and Midøya are also connected with a bridge. Ferries run between the islands and the mainland. There is a ferry from Solholmen across the Julsundet to

and from the island of Dryna to the village of Brattvåg (in

). The larger three islands' interior is wilderness, but the rims are used for keeping cattle and small farming.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Midsund, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profes ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a s ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the Romsdal District Court and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal ( no, Frostating lagmannsrett) is one of six Court of appeal (Norway), courts of appeal in the Norway, Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Trondheim (city), Trondheim. The court has jurisdiction ov ...

Municipal council

The

() of Midsund is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Demographics

The municipality had 1,939 inhabitants (January 2005), with 50.3% male. The percentage of people older than 67 is 18.3%. Unemployment is 2.3%. Population growth is stable. Most inhabitants are

fishers Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

or small farmers.

Media

The newspaper ''

Øyavis ''Øyavis'' (the Island Gazette) was a local Norwegian newspaper published in Midsund in Møre og Romsdal county. History The first issue of the paper appeared in March 1983, after which the paper was published once a month with local material fr ...

'' was published in Midsund from 1983 to 2016.Bjerkeland, Øystein. 2016. Øyavis legges trolig ned. ''Romsdals Budstikke'' (March 9).
/ref>

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

{{authority control Molde Former municipalities of Norway 1965 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places disestablished in 2020