Norddal is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It merged with Stordal municipality to establish the new Fjord municipality in 2020. It covered the easternmost part of the Sunnmøre region along the border with Oppland county. The municipal center of the municipality was the village of Sylte (also known as Valldal) in the Valldalen valley.
Norddal kommune | |
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Former municipality | |
View of Eidsdal | |
![]() Coat of arms ![]() Møre og Romsdal within Norway | |
![]() Norddal within Møre og Romsdal | |
Coordinates: 62°17′32″N 07°26′18″E | |
Country | Norway |
County | Møre og Romsdal |
District | Sunnmøre |
Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
• Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
Disestablished | 1 Jan 2020 |
• Succeeded by | Fjord Municipality |
Administrative centre | Sylte |
Government | |
• Mayor (2015-2019) | Arne Sandnes (Sp) |
Area (upon dissolution) | |
• Total | 943.51 km2 (364.29 sq mi) |
• Land | 900.46 km2 (347.67 sq mi) |
• Water | 43.05 km2 (16.62 sq mi) 4.6% |
• Rank | #116 in Norway |
Population (2018) | |
• Total | 1,670 |
• Rank | #345 in Norway |
• Density | 1.9/km2 (5/sq mi) |
• Change (10 years) | ![]() |
Demonym | Norddaling[1] |
Official language | |
• Norwegian form | Nynorsk |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
ISO 3166 code | NO-1524 |
Website | Official website |
Norddal covered an area with several distinct valleys and villages: Eidsdal and Norddal (Dalsbygda) in the south; Tafjord in the east; and Fjørå/Selboskarbygda and Sylte in the Valldalen valley in the north. Norwegian County Road 63 traverses the municipality from south to north, going through several tunnels in the mountains including the Stordal Tunnel. The Heggur Tunnel connects the isolated village of Tafjord with the rest of the municipality.
At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 944-square-kilometre (364 sq mi) municipality is the 116th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Norddal is the 345th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,670. The municipality's population density is 1.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (4.9/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 5.2% over the last decade.[3][4]
The prestegjeld of Norddal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Historically, the district of Sunnylven was part of the parish of Norddal, but on 1 January 1838 when Norddal municipality was established, Sunnylven was established as its own municipality, separate from Norddal. The municipal borders have not changed since that time.[5]
On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Norddal and Stordal were merged into the new Fjord Municipality.[6]
The Old Norse form of the name was just Dalr, identical with the word dalr which means "valley" or "dale". The first element Nord- meaning "northern" was added around the year 1600. The parish church is still sometimes called Dale Church. Before 1918, the name was written Norddalen.[7]
The coat of arms was granted on 16 February 1990. The arms show a red twig of a strawberry plant on a yellow background. Norddal has a tradition for producing fruits such as apples, pears, and berries, notably strawberries.[8][9]
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Norddal. It is part of the Austre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
---|---|---|---|
Norddal | Norddal Church | Norddal | 1782 |
Sylte Church | Sylte | 1863 |
Valldal is mentioned in the historical books of Snorri Sturluson. While escaping the Danish army, Olav Haraldsson, later to become St. Olav, went ashore in Valldalen during the winter 1028/1029. Here, he supposedly came across a troublesome "sea serpent" which he tossed onto the mountainside and can today be seen as a lighter rock pattern above the town centre Sylte. On his journey up the valley towards Trollstigen, he received help from the farmers at Grønning to pass a rocky section called Skjærsura. For this help he deemed that the seed crop would never suffer from frost. Also, a natural spring in Valldal is named after St. Olav and is said to have a healing effect.
In 2008, a memorial stone was erected at the farm Døving, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) up the valley from the sea, where the first church and cemetery is believed to have been located.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Norddal was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 9 | |
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) | 1 | |
Cross-party list for Norddal (Tverrpolitisk liste for Norddal) | 5 | |
Total number of members: | 17 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 6 | |
Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) | 1 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 3 | |
Cross-party list for Norddal (Tverpolitisk liste for Norddal) | 4 | |
Norddal List (Norddalslista) | 7 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 | |
Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) | 2 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 5 | |
Cross-party list for Norddal (Tverpolitisk liste for Norddal) | 3 | |
Norddal List (Norddalslista) | 7 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 | |
Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) | 3 | |
Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 2 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 6 | |
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) | 1 | |
Action List for Norddal (Aksjonslista for Norddal) | 4 | |
Norddal List (Norddalslista) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 | |
Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) | 1 | |
Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 9 | |
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) | 1 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 3 | |
Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 9 | |
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) | 1 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 | |
Conservative Party (Høgre) | 2 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 10 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 3 | |
Conservative Party (Høgre) | 4 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 9 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 3 | |
Conservative Party (Høgre) | 4 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 8 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 | |
Socialist common list (Sosialistisk fellesliste) | 1 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 | |
Conservative Party (Høgre) | 3 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 4 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 9 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 1 | |
Local list for Eidsdal (Bygdeliste for Eidsdal) | 6 | |
Local list for Valldal (Bygdeliste for Valldal) | 10 | |
Local list for Fjørå (Bygdeliste for Fjørå) | 1 | |
Local list for Tafjord (Bygdeliste for Tafjord) | 1 | |
Local list for Dalsbygda (Bygdeliste for Dalsbygda) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 3 | |
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 18 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 21 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 21 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 21 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 21 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 1 | |
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 19 | |
Total number of members: | 20 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 20 | |
Total number of members: | 20 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 20 | |
Total number of members: | 20 |
Party Name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 | |
Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 18 | |
Total number of members: | 20 | |
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. |
The municipality lies around the Norddalsfjorden and the Tafjorden which flow west to east. They are the innermost branches off the main Storfjorden. Stranda Municipality lies to the west and south, Skjåk Municipality lies to the southeast, Rauma Municipality lies to the east and north, and Stordal Municipality lies to the northwest.
The main Valldalen valley runs to the northeast from the fjord. The valleys are surrounded by the Tafjordfjella mountain range. The mountains Puttegga, Karitinden, and Tordsnose sit on the eastern border of the municipality. The mountain Høgstolen lies in the northern part of the municipality. Reinheimen National Park is located partially in the municipality of Norddal.
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