Norddal Municipality was the easternmost part of the Sunnmøreregion along the border with Oppland county. 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.[5]
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 943.5-square-kilometre (364.3sqmi) municipality was the 116th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Norddal Municipality was the 345th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,645. The municipality's population density was 1.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (4.4/sqmi) and its population had decreased by 7% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
General information
The parish 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 Municipality was established as its own municipality, separate from Norddal. The municipal borders did not change after that time.[8]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Dale farm (Old Norse: Dalr) since the first Dale Church was built there. Historically, the parish was known as simply as Dale. Around the year 1600, the first element, nord, was added. This prefix means "northern". The last element of the name is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".[10] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Norddalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Norddal, removing the definite form ending -en.[11]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 16 February 1990 and they were in use until the municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020. The official blazon is "Or, a strawberry branch gules" (Norwegian: På gull grunn ein raud jordbærstengel). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a red strawberry branch with a three-part leaf and three berries. This design was chosen because Norddal has a tradition for producing fruits such as apples, pears, and berries, notably strawberries. Wild strawberries can be found growing all over the municipality. The arms were designed by Astor Furseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[5][12][13][14]
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 municipal 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 (1.9mi) up the valley from the sea, where the first church and cemetery is believed to have been located.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Norddal Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Norddal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:[33]
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 sat on the eastern border of the municipality. The mountain Høgstolen was in the northern part of the municipality. Reinheimen National Park was located partially in the municipality of Norddal. The highest point in the municipality was the 1,999-metre (6,558ft) tall mountain Puttegga, located along the border with Rauma Municipality.[1]
↑"Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 16 February 1990. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
↑Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
