Volda 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 (; 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 is part of the

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal, ...

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 ...

is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and Grodås. The municipality is located about south of the town of

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ...

. The municipality is the 132nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Volda is the 106th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,809. 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 9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of ''Volden'' was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janua ...

law). The original municipality was the same as the parish (

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas that ...

) of Volden, including the sub-parishes of

Ørsta is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta. Other villages in the municipality include Hovdebygda, Flåskje ...

and Dalsfjord. On 1 August 1883, the sub-parish of

(population: 2,070) was separated from Volden to form a new municipality of its own. This left Volden with 3,485 residents. On 1 January 1893, the Ytrestølen farm in the

municipality (population: 13) was transferred to Volden municipality. In 1918, the name was changed from ''Volden'' to ''Volda''. On 1 July 1924, the sub-parish of Dalsfjord (population: 960) was separated from Volda to become a municipality of its own. This left Volda with 4,715 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) 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, often abbreviated as WWI ...

. On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Dalsfjord (population: 1,151) and Volda (population: 6,056) were merged back together. The new Volda municipality had 7,207 residents. On 1 January 2020, another large municipal border adjustment took place. The neighboring municipality of Hornindal (previously in

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the c ...

county) and the Bjørke and Leira areas of Ørsta were merged with Volda to make a much larger Volda Municipality (in Møre og Romsdal county).

Name

The municipality is named after the Voldsfjorden (). The name is probably derived from an old word meaning "

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (r ...

". (Compare with the german: Welle which means "wave".) Before 1918, the name was written ''Volden''.

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 adopted in 2019 for use starting in 2020. The arms from 1987 were modified by adding two

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tr ...

s on either side of the tip of a

fountain pen A fountain pen is a writing instrument which uses a metal nib to apply a water-based ink to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeatedly dip the pen in an i ...

. The scythes were taken from the old arms of the former Hornindal Municipality which joined Volda in 2020. The old arms were granted on 19 June 1987. The arms show a white- or silver-colored tip of a

on a blue background. This is a symbol for the long history of education in Volda. Volda komm 2020.svg, Current arms since 2020. Volda komm.svg, Arms in use from 1987 to 2019. Voldskyrkja

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. ...

has six parishes () within the municipality of Volda. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (

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

Volda's main geographical feature is the Voldsfjorden which branches off into the Austefjorden, Kilsfjorden, and Dalsfjorden. It is also mountainous, particularly southeast of the fjords, with the Sunnmørsalpene mountains surrounding the region. The tall mountain Eidskyrkja is located in the southeastern part of the municipality. Volda is bordered by municipalities of:

Vanylven Municipality Vanylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Fiskåbygd. Other villages in the municipality include Åheim, Åram, Rovdane, Eidså, Slagnes ...

to the south-west/west; Herøy and

Ulstein Ulstein is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is the town of Ulsteinvik. The municipality occupies the western half of the island of Hareid ...

(only by sea) to the west;

to the north and east; and

Stryn Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of ...

and Stad, in

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, whe ...

county, to the south. The dominant centre, both in terms of population and administration, is the village of Volda, in the northernmost part of the municipality. Other population concentrations include Mork, Ekset, Folkestad, Fyrde, Steinsvika, Lauvstad, Bjørkedal, Grodås, and Straumshamn. Some of the mountains in Volda include Hornindalsrokken,

Kvitegga Kvitegga is a mountain on the border between the municipalities of Stranda and Volda in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located about southeast of the village of Leira (in Volda) and about west of Hellesylt (in Stranda). The tall Kv ...

, and

Jakta Jakta is a tall mountain in the Sunnmørsalpene mountain range. It is located in the municipality of Ørsta in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Jakta lies south of the nearby mountain Slogen Slogen is a mountain rising up from Hjørundfjo ...

Climate

Government

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

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

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

Møre og Romsdal District Court Møre og Romsdal District Court ( no, Møre og Romsdal tingrett) is a district court located in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Volda, Ålesund, Molde, and Kristiansund. T ...

and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Volda is made up of 33 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 of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Volda (incomplete list): *1980–1988: Rasmus R. Aarflot ( Sp) *1988–2003: Knut Bere ( H) *2003–2011:

Ragnhild Aarflot Kalland Ragnhild Aarflot Kalland (born 4 September 1960) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. She served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal during the terms 2001–2005 and 2005–2009. On ...

( Sp) *2011–2015: Arild Iversen ( KrF) *2015–2019: Jørgen Amdam ( Ap) *2019–present: Sølvi Dimmen ( Sp)

Culture

Volda is primarily known for strong cultural heritage and academic traditions. A private

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

at Egset, the first rural of its kind in Norway, is said to have inspired the young

Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from v ...

in the 19th century. Martin Ulvestad, Norwegian–American author who published an English-Danish-Norwegian dictionary in 1895, (''Engelsk-Dansk-Norsk Ordbog med fuldstændig Udtalebetegnelse'') was born in Volda. The ''

Norsk Landboeblad ''Norsk Landboeblad'' was a former Norwegian newspaper published during the early 1800s. ''Norsk Landboeblad'' was published in the community of Volda in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. It had a circulation of 600, a considerable number at that time. ...

'' newspaper was based in Volda in the 1800s. ''Volda landsgymnas'' (established 1910) was the first Norwegian secondary school outside a major city. Among the most important institutions today is the Volda University College.

Volda University College Volda University College ( no, Høgskulen i Volda or HVO) is one of the no-tuition state institutions in the system of higher education in Norway. It is located in the town of Volda, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. History HVO was establishe ...

(HVO) is one of 25

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

s in Norway. HVO, with an enrollment of about 3,000 students, specializes in education of teachers, animators, and journalists. This has attracted or incubated several animation companies to Volda, whose work is highlighted in the annual Animation Volda Festival, which started at HVO in 2007. HVO is host of the annual Norwegian Documentary Film Festival ( DOKFILM), which started in 1997. The national ski festival X2 is also held in Volda during April every year. The Volda TI sports club includes an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

team, whose home field is Volda Stadion. The football squad has consistently played in the 2. divisjon to

4. divisjon The Norwegian Fourth Division, also called 4. divisjon, is the fifth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from ...

leagues (tiers three to five of the Norwegian football league system) for a number of decades. As a logical consequence of the huge influx of students, as well as a county hospital, public services are by far the most dominant sector, representing almost 50% of economic life in Volda. Industry and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

are also prevalent. Bjørkedalen is noted for its tradition in building wooden boats. The

Sivert Aarflot Museum The Sivert Aarflot Museum ( no, Sivert Aarflot-museet) is a division of the Sunnmøre Museum Foundation in Norway. The museum is named after Sivert Aarflot (1759–1817), who among other things started the first rural printing shop in Norway. The ...

is located at Ekset in Volda. Volda and its environs are featured prominently in the film '' Troll Hunter'' (2010).

Transportation

The Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden, is located in neighbouring municipality of

, just north of the village of Volda. The

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in ...

highway passes north through the municipality on its way to the city of

. As noted, the municipality is criss-crossed by fjords; therefore, both Lauvstad and Folkestad are linked to the population centre Volda by ferry. In February 2008, the underwater Eiksund Tunnel connected the municipalities of

Hareid Hareid is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Hareid. The other main population centers are Brandal and Hjørungavåg. The municipality is sit ...

, Herøy, and Sande to Ørsta and Volda. The tunnel is the deepest

undersea tunnel An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry li ...

in the world. The Kviven Tunnel was completed in 2012, connecting Fyrde to the village of Grodås to the south on the other side of a large mountain. This tunnel led to the old Hornindal Municipality joining Volda in 2020.

Notable residents

* Martin Ulvestad (1865–1942) Norwegian-American historian and philologist *

Peter Olai Thorvik Peter Olai Thorvik (2 July 1873 – 16 August 1965) was a Norwegian blacksmith, fisherman, banker and politician. Biography Thorvik was born in Volda on 2 July 1873, to Sivert Peter Andersen Thorvik and Berthe Johanne Olsdatter Brune. He m ...

(1873–1965) a blacksmith, fisherman, banker and politician * Inger Hagerup (1905–1985) an author, playwright and poet; lived in Volda * Dag Frøland (1945–2010) a comedian, revue artist, singer and impersonator IMDb Database
retrieved 16 February 2021 *

Ottar Grepstad Ottar Grepstad (born 1 October 1953) is a Norwegian Nynorsk writer. He was born in Øyer. In the 1970s he was the leader of the Young Liberals of Norway for a period. From 1984 to 1988 he edited the periodical ''Syn og Segn''. He worked in Det No ...

(born 1953) a Norwegian

Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano- ...

writer, lives in Volda *

Olav Rune Ekeland Bastrup Olav Rune Ekeland Bastrup (born 4 September 1956, in Volda) is a Norwegian writer and historian. He has published numerous books on social history subjects such as the use of eugenics in Scandinavia and the Norwegian roma-minority. He spoke at ...

(born 1956) a Norwegian writer and historian *

(born 1960) a local politician, Mayor of Volda 2003-2011 * Frode Grodås (born 1964) a football goalkeeper with over 250 club caps and 50 for

* Simone Eriksrud (born 1970) musician, composer and lead vocalist with D'Sound *

Asbjørn Blokkum Flø Asbjørn Blokkum Flø (born 6 May 1973 in Volda) is a Norwegian composer, musician and sound artist. He studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with Lasse Thoresen, Asbjørn Schaathun and Ivar Frounberg. He writes chamber mu ...

(born 1973) a Norwegian composer, musician and sound artist * Beate S. Lech (born 1974) jazz vocalist and lead singer of Beady Belle * Erlend Slettevoll (born 1981) a Norwegian jazz pianist * Jon Georg Dale (born 1984), Progress Party politician and former minister * Ørjan Håskjold Nyland (born 1990) a football goalkeeper with over 200 club caps and 28 for

Gallery

File:MF Høgsfjord utenfor Volda fergekai.jpg, MF Høgsfjord utenfor Volda fergekai File:Sivert Aarflot-museet i Volda 2.jpg, Sivert Aarflot-museet i Volda 2 File:Fjellnabben Galten i Dalsfjorden.jpg, Fjellnabben Galten i Dalsfjorden File:Eikrem - panoramio (1).jpg, Eikrem

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 ...

Official website

Website about Volda

Weather forecast for Volda
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1838 establishments in Norway