is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is part of the

Nordmøre Nordmøre () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the List of municipalities of Norway, municipalities of Kristiansund Mu ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

is the village of Skei. Other villages in Surnadal include Bøverfjorden, Glærem, Moen, Stangvik,

Surnadalsøra Surnadalsøra is a village in Surnadal Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Surnadalsfjorden, near the mouth of the river Surna (Norway), Surna. It is located just southwest of the villages of Sylte, Su ...

, Sylte, Todalsøra, and Åsskard. The municipality is the 68th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Surnadal is the 164th most populous municipality in Norway, with a population of 5,953. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 0.02% over the previous 10-year period. A mild climate and rich soil make Surnadal well suited for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. The local economy is based on agriculture,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, and industrial production, in addition to services.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Surnadal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). In 1858, the eastern district of the municipality (population: 2,684) was separated to form the new Rindal Municipality. This left Surnadal Municipality with 3,105 residents. On 1 January 1877, part of Stangvik Municipality (population: 50) was transferred to Surnadal Municipality. In 1879, part of Surnadal Municipality (population: 83) was transferred to the neighboring Stangvik Municipality. On 1 January 1886, the Møklegjerdet farm (population: 29), just west of the village of Glærem, was transferred from Stangvik Municipality to Surnadal Municipality. On 1 January 1897, the Sjøflot farm (population: 27) was also transferred from Stangvik Municipality to Surnadal Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1965, all of Åsskard Municipality (population: 1,014) and most of Stangvik Municipality (population: 1,386) were merged with Surnadal Municipality (population: 3,534) to create a new, larger Surnadal Municipality with a total population of 5,934.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the Surnadalen valley (). The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the river name Surna. The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Surendalen''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Surnadal''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 27 October 1989. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

, two bends engrailed above and invected below

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is two bends that have wavy edges. The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The wavy lines represent the many rivers and streams in the municipality, the most notable one being the Surna. The arms were designed by Even Jarle Skoglund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has five parishes () within Surnadal Municipality. It is part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography

The municipality is made up by the main Surnadalen valley through which the river Surna runs. There are also many smaller side valleys including Stor-Bæverdalen, Settemsdalen, Øvstbødalen, Todalen, and Vinddøldalen. The municipality is bordered by the

Trollheimen Trollheimen is a mountain range in Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag county, counties in central Norway. The mountain range is part of the Scandinavian Mountains. Etymology The name ('the home of the trolls') was proposed by Håkon Løken. It is ...

mountain range and

Sunndal Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Nordmøre Districts of Norway, region located in the northeast part of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village o ...

to the south, the neighboring Rindal Municipality to the east,

Heim Municipality Heim is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 upon the merger of three other municipalities. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district ...

to the north, and several fjords to the west: Trongfjorden, Stangvikfjorden, and Todalsfjorden. There are three main fjords that cut into the municipality: Åsskardfjorden, Hamnesfjorden, and Surnadalsfjorden. The landscape is a combination of

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

s, and

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s. The highest mountain peak is Snota at above sea level. Other mountains include Vassnebba, Indre Sula and Ytre Sula, Neådalssnota, and Trollhetta. The river Surna runs through the valley from the east to the west, and forms a large

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

where it enters the fjord near

and Skei. This river is rich in

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

, which attract tourists from the rest of the country and abroad. The lakes Foldsjøen and Gråsjøen lie along the border with Rindal Municipality in the east. The Grønkjølen Nature Reserve lies in the extreme northeast of the municipality.

Climate

Surnadal is situated at the head of a long fjord some distance from the coast and has an oceanic climate or

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, depending on winter threshold used () gives oceanic, gives humid continental). The wettest season is August–December, while Feb - May is the driest. The record high recorded 27 July 2018. The warmest night was 29 July 2018 with low . On 14 October 2018 a high of was recorded in Surnadal, the second warmest October temperature in Norway. Winter temperatures can get below , although that is rare. February 2010 a low of was recorded.

Government

Surnadal Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Nordmøre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Surnadal is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

() of Surnadal is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list): * 1876–1881: Ole Øye * 1889–1891: J. Krangnæs * 1892–1893: L. Kvendbø * 1897–1898: Gregorius Olsen Fiske * 1899–1904: Lars Pedersen Mogstad * 1904–1916: Sivert Sivertsen Glærum ( V) * 1916–1919: S. Svendsen * 1919–1937: Ola Dønheim ( V) * 1938–1941: Hans Svean ( V) * 1945–1945: Ola Dønheim ( V) * 1945–1955: Anders Sæterøy ( Ap) * 1965–1967: Olav T. Halle ( Sp) * 1968–1971: Petter Garte ( Ap) * 1972–1975: Erik Brøske ( Ap) * 1976–1983: Nils Magnar Torvik ( Sp) * 1984–1986: Helge Røv ( Ap) * 1987–1991: Helge Vold ( Ap) * 1992–1995: Ola O. Fiske ( Sp) * 1995–1996: Asbjørn Ørsal ( Ap) * 1997–2007: Bergsvein Brøske ( Sp) * 2007–2014: Mons Otnes ( Ap) * 2014–2019: Lilly Gunn Nyheim ( Ap) * 2019–2023: Margrethe Svinvik ( Sp) * 2023–present: Hugo Pedersen ( Sp)

Transportation

Transportation services include ferries to the southwest and the northwest, which lead to the coastal areas of

, and a highway to the city of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

to the east.

Notable people

* Ole Andreas Lindeman (1769–1857), a musician, organist, composer, and music educator * Hans Holten (1892–1973), a newspaper editor * Hans Hyldbakk (1898–2001), a

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

poet * Anders Sæterøy (1901–1991), a politician and Mayor of Surnadal three times after WWII * Kaare Espolin Johnson (1907–1994), an artist and illustrator * Helge Seip (1919–2004), a politician and leader of the Liberal party * Alf Ramsøy (1925–2014), a long-distance runner, cross-country skier, actor, and farmer * Sverre Årnes (born 1949), a writer of serial novels, short stories, and articles * Henning Sommerro (born 1952), a musician, composer and academic * Lars Steinar Ansnes (born 1956), an editor *

Euronymous Øystein Aarseth (22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the No ...

(1968–1993), a member of

early Norwegian black metal scene The early Norwegian black metal scene of the 1990s is credited with shaping the modern black metal genre and producing some of the most acclaimed and influential artists in extreme metal. The scene had a distinct ethos, and its core members ref ...

whose real name is Øystein Aarseth * Rune Gjeldnes (born 1971), an adventurer and explorer * Ivar Loe Bjørnstad (born 1981), a jazz and rock musician

Media gallery

File:Mo kirke Surnadal.jpg, Mo kirke, Surnadal File:Giklingdalshytta 1991.jpg, Giklingdalshytta File:Vaulen.JPG, Markagården Vaulen File:Todalshytta - panoramio.jpg, Todalshytta

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

{{authority control Nordmøre Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838