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Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), Graf (count), later elevated to Fürst (sovereign prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal). He earned his greatest recognition after leading his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Blücher was born in Rostock, the son of a retired army captain. His military career began in 1758 as a hussar in the Swedish Army. He was captured by the Prussians in 1760 during the Pomeranian Campaign and thereafter joined the Prussian Army, serving as a hussar officer for Prussia during the remainder of the Seven Years' War. In 1773, Blücher was forced to resign by Frederick the Great for insubordination. He worked as a farmer until the death of Frederick in 1786, when Blücher was reinstated and promoted to colonel. For his success in the French Revolutionary Wars, Blücher became a major general in 1794. He became a lieutenant general in 1801 and commanded the cavalry corps during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806.

War broke out between Prussia and France again in 1813 and Blücher returned to active service at the age of 71. He became a leading hero of the Germans in the struggle to end foreign domination of their lands. He was appointed full general over the Prussian field forces and clashed with Napoleon at the Battles of Lützen and Bautzen. Later he won a critical victory over the French at the Battle of Katzbach. Blücher commanded the Prussian Army of Silesia at the Battle of the Nations where Napoleon was decisively defeated. For his role, Blücher was made a field marshal and received his title of Prince of Wahlstatt. After Napoleon's return in 1815, Blücher took command of the Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine and coordinated his force with that of the British and Allied forces under the Duke of Wellington. At the Battle of Ligny, he was severely injured and the Prussians retreated. After recovering, Blücher resumed command and joined Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo, with the intervention of Blücher's army playing a decisive role in the final allied victory.

Blücher was made an honorary citizen of Berlin, Hamburg and Rostock. Known for his fiery personality, he was nicknamed Marschall Vorwärts ("Marshal Forward") by his soldiers because of his aggressive approach in warfare. Along with Paul von Hindenburg, he was the most highly decorated Prussian-German soldier in history: Blücher and Hindenburg are the only Prussian-German military officers to have been awarded the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. A statue once stood in the square that bore his name, Blücherplatz, in Breslau (today Wrocław).

Early life
Blücher was born on 21 December 1742 in Rostock, a Baltic port in northern Germany, then in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. His father Christian Friedrich von Blücher (1696–1761), was a retired army captain, and his family belonged to the nobility and had been landowners in northern Germany since at least the 13th century. His mother was Dorothea Maria von Zülow (1702–1769), who also belonged to an old noble family from Mecklenburg.

Gebhard began his military career at the age of 16, when he joined the Swedish Army as a hussar. At the time, Sweden was at war with Prussia in the Seven Years' War. Blücher took part in the Pomeranian campaign of 1760, where Prussian hussars captured him in a skirmish. The colonel of the Prussian regiment, Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling (a distant relative), was impressed with the young hussar and had him join his own regiment.

Blücher took part in the later battles of the Seven Years' War, and as a hussar officer, gained much experience in light cavalry work. In peace, however, his ardent spirit led him into excesses of all kinds, such as the mock execution of a priest suspected of supporting Polish uprisings in 1772. As a result, he was passed over for promotion to major. Blücher submitted a rude letter of resignation in 1773, which Frederick the Great replied to with "Captain Blücher can take himself to the devil" (1773).

Blücher settled down to farming. Within 15 years, he had acquired financial independence and had become a Freemason. During Frederick the Great's lifetime, Blücher could not return to the army. However, the monarch died in 1786, and the following year, Blücher was reinstated as a major in his old regiment, the Red Hussars. He took part in the expedition to the Netherlands in 1787, and the next year was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1789, he received Prussia's highest military order, the Pour le Mérite, and in 1794, he became colonel of the Red Hussars. In 1793 and 1794, Blücher distinguished himself in cavalry actions against the French, and for his victory at Kirrweiler on 28 May 1794, he was promoted to major general. In 1801, he was made a lieutenant general.

Napoleonic Wars

Blücher was one of the leaders of the war party in Prussia in 1805, and he served as a cavalry general in the disastrous campaign of 1806. At the double Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Blücher fought at Auerstedt, repeatedly leading the charges of the Prussian cavalry, but without success. During the retreat of the broken armies, he commanded the rearguard composed of Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe's corps. With the capitulation of the main body after the Battle of Prenzlau on 28 October, he found his march toward the north-east blocked. He led the remnant of his corps away to the north-west. Reinforcing his numbers with a division previously commanded by Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Blücher and his new chief of staff, Gerhard von Scharnhorst, reorganised his forces into two small corps totaling 21,000 men and 44 cannons. Nevertheless, he was defeated by two French corps at the Battle of Lübeck on 6 November. The next day, trapped against the Danish frontier by 40,000 French troops, he was compelled to surrender with less than 10,000 soldiers at Ratekau. Blücher insisted that clauses be written in the capitulation document that he had had to surrender due to lack of provisions and ammunition, and that his soldiers should be honoured by a French formation along the street. He was allowed to keep his sabre and to move freely, bound only by his word of honour. He was soon exchanged for future Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno, and was actively employed in Pomerania, at Berlin, and at Königsberg until the conclusion of the war.

After the war, Blücher was looked upon as the natural leader of the Patriot Party, with which he was in close touch during the period of Napoleonic domination, but his hopes of an alliance with Austria in the war of 1809 were disappointed. In this year, he was made general of cavalry. In 1812, he expressed himself so openly on the alliance of Russia with France that he was recalled from his military governorship of Pomerania and virtually banished from the court.

Following the start of the War of Liberation in the spring of 1813, Blücher was again placed in high command, and he was present at Lützen and Bautzen. During the summer truce, he worked on the organisation of the Prussian forces; when the war was resumed, he became commander-in-chief of the Army of Silesia, with August von Gneisenau and Karl von Müffling as his principal staff officers and 40,000 Prussians and 50,000 Russians under his command during the autumn campaign. The most conspicuous military quality displayed by Blücher was his unrelenting energy.

The irresolution and divergence of interests usual in Sixth Coalition armies found in him a restless opponent. Knowing that if he could not induce others to co-operate, he was prepared to attempt the task at hand by himself, which often caused other generals to follow his lead. He defeated Marshal MacDonald at the Katzbach, and by his victory over Marshal Marmont at Möckern led the way to the decisive defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig. Blücher's own army stormed Leipzig on the evening of the last day of the battle. This was the fourth battle between Napoleon and Blücher, and the first that Blücher had won.

On the day of Möckern (16 October 1813), Blücher was made a field marshal. He later earned the nickname "Marshal Forwards" due to his tireless energy. And after the victory, he pursued the French with his accustomed energy. In the winter of 1813–1814, Blücher, with his chief staff officers, was mainly instrumental in inducing the Coalition sovereigns to carry the war into France itself.

The Battle of Brienne and the Battle of La Rothière were the chief incidents of the first stage of the celebrated 1814 campaign in north-east France, and they were quickly followed by victories of Napoleon over Blücher at Champaubert, Vauchamps, and Montmirail. The courage of the Prussian leader was undiminished, though, and his victory against the vastly outnumbered French, at Laon (9 and 10 March) practically decided the fate of the campaign. However, his health had been severely affected by the strains of the previous two months, and he now suffered a breakdown, during which he lost his sight and suffered a delusion that a Frenchman had impregnated him with an elephant. Dominic Lieven wrote that the breakdown, "revealed the fragility of the coalition armies' command structure and just how much the Army of Silesia had depended on Blücher's drive, courage, and charisma.... The result was that for more than a week after the battle of Laon, the Army of Silesia... played no useful role in the war".

After this, Blücher infused some of his energy into the operations of the Prince Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia, and at last this army and the Army of Silesia marched in one body directly towards Paris. The victory of Montmartre, the entry of the allies into the French capital, and the overthrow of the First Empire were the direct consequences.

Blücher was in favour of punishing the city of Paris severely for the sufferings of Prussia at the hands of the French armies, but the allied commanders intervened. According to the Duke of Wellington, one of Blücher's plans involved blowing up the Jena Bridge near the Champ de Mars: "About blowing up the bridge of Jena there were two parties in the Prussian Army — Gneisenau and Muffling against, but Blücher violently for it. In spite of all I could do, he did make the attempt, even while I believe my sentinel was standing at one end of the bridge. But the Prussians had no experience of blowing up bridges. We, who had blown up so many in Spain, could have done it in five minutes. The Prussians made a hole in one of the pillars, but their powder blew out instead of up, and I believe hurt some of their own people."

In gratitude for his victories in 1814, King Frederick William III of Prussia created Blücher Prince (Fürst) of Wahlstatt (in Silesia on the Katzbach battlefield). The king also awarded him estates near Krieblowitz (now Krobielowice, Poland) in Lower Silesia and a grand mansion at 2, Pariser Platz in Berlin (which in 1930 became the Embassy of the United States, Berlin). Soon afterward, Blücher paid a visit to England, where he was received with royal honours and cheered enthusiastically everywhere he went.

When Oxford University granted him an honorary doctorate (doctor of laws), he is supposed to have joked that if he was made a doctor, they should at least make Gneisenau an apothecary; "...for if I wrote the prescription, he made the pills."

Hundred Days and later life

After the war, Frederick William III gave Blücher properties in the area of Neustadt (now Prudnik). In November of the same year, Blücher leased Kunzendorf, Mühlsdorf, Wackenau and Achthuben to a local farmer, Hübner, in exchange for 2,000 thalers, rolls of linen cloth and yarn. His wife also moved to Kunzendorf. While living in the area of Neustadt, he financed the families of the fallen soldiers, gave a few liters of beer to the local parish priest every day, and paid a doctor from Neustadt to treat the poor. Thanks to his efforts, a health resort called "Blücher's Spring" was established in Kunzendorf (it was destroyed together with the castle as a result of the battles of the Neustadt in 1945).

After the war, Blücher retired to Silesia. However, the return of Napoleon from Elba and his entry into Paris at the start of the Hundred Days, called him back to service. He was put in command of the Army of the Lower Rhine, with Gneisenau serving again as his chief of staff. At the outset of the Waterloo Campaign of 1815, the Prussians sustained a serious defeat at Ligny (16 June), in the course of which the old field marshal lay trapped under his dead horse for several hours and was repeatedly ridden over by cavalry, his life saved only by the devotion of his aide-de-camp Count Nostitz, who threw a greatcoat over his commander to obscure Blücher's rank and identity from the passing French. As Blücher was unable to resume command for some hours, Gneisenau took command, drew off the defeated army, and rallied it. In spite of Gneisenau's distrust of Wellington, he obeyed Blücher's last orders to direct the army's retreat towards Wavre, rather than Liège, to keep alive the possibility of joining the Prussian and Wellington's Anglo-allied armies together.

After bathing his wounds in a liniment of rhubarb and garlic, and fortified by a liberal internal dose of schnapps, Blücher rejoined his army. Gneisenau feared that the British had reneged on their earlier agreements and favored a withdrawal, but Blücher convinced him to send two corps to join Wellington at Waterloo. He then led his army on a tortuous march along muddy paths, arriving on the field of Waterloo in the late afternoon. In spite of his age, the pain of his wounds, and the effort it must have taken for him to remain on horseback, Bernard Cornwell states that several soldiers attested to Blücher's high spirits and his determination to defeat Napoleon:

"'Forwards!' he was quoted as saying. 'I hear you say it's impossible, but it has to be done! I have given my promise to Wellington, and you surely don't want me to break it? Push yourselves, my children, and we'll have victory!' It is impossible not to like Blücher. He was 74 years ( [sic]) old, still in pain and discomfort from his adventures at Ligny, still stinking of schnapps and of rhubarb liniment, yet he is all enthusiasm and energy. If Napoleon's demeanour that day was one of sullen disdain for an enemy he underestimated, and Wellington's a cold, calculating calmness that hid concern, then Blücher is all passion."

With the battle hanging in the balance, Blücher's army intervened with decisive and crushing effect, his vanguard drawing off Napoleon's badly needed reserves, and his main body being instrumental in crushing French resistance. This victory led the way to a decisive victory through the relentless pursuit of the French by the Prussians. The two Coalition armies entered Paris on 7 July.

Blücher remained in the French capital for a few months, but his age and infirmities compelled him to retire to his Silesian residence at Krieblowitz. At the invitation of the British government, he made another state visit to England, to be formally thanked for his army and his role in the Waterloo Campaign. When his carriage stopped on Blackheath Hill, overlooking London, he is said to have exclaimed, "What a city to sack!" He died at Krieblowitz on 12 September 1819, aged 76. After his death, an imposing mausoleum was built for his remains.

When Krieblowitz was conquered by the Red Army in 1945, Soviet soldiers broke into the Blücher mausoleum and scattered the remains. Soviet troops reportedly used his skull as a football. After 1989, some of his remains were taken by a Polish priest and interred in the catacomb of the church in Sośnica (German: Schosnitz), three km from the now Polish Krobielowice.

Assessment
Napoleon characterized him as a very brave soldier with no talent as a general, but he admired his attitude, which he described as a bull that looks all around him with rolling eyes and, when he sees danger, charges. Napoleon thought of him as stubborn and untiring, knowing no fear. He called him an old rascal who was always able to get up on his feet again and be ready for the next battle as, following a sound defeat, Blücher had, almost instantly, returned to attack him vigorously again.

It was to be said later among the Prussian military that Blücher established "a Prussian way of war" that had abiding influence:

"The key to this way of war was Blücher’s concept of victory. Like Napoleon, he placed tremendous emphasis on the decisive battle and achieving a decisive victory as quickly as possible at any cost. Also like Napoleon, he measured victory and defeat only in terms of battlefield results.  Deviating very little from the Corsican’s art of war, the objective of Blücher’s Prussian way of war was to make contact with the enemy as quickly as possible, concentrate all forces, deliver the decisive blow, and end the war."

More generally, Blücher was a courageous and popular general who "had much to be proud of: energy, controlled aggression and a commitment to defeating the enemy army."

Campaigns

 * 1760: Pomeranian Campaign (as Swedish soldier; captured by Prussia; changed sides)
 * Seven Years' War
 * 1787: Expedition to the Netherlands with Red Hussars
 * 1793–1794: French campaigns with Red Hussars
 * 1806: Auerstedt, Pomerania, Berlin, Königsberg
 * 1813: Lützen, Bautzen, Katzbach, Möckern, Leipzig
 * 1814: Brienne, La Rothière, Champaubert, Vauchamps, Château-Thierry, Montmirail, Laon, Montmartre
 * 1815: Lower Rhine (Battle of Ligny), Battle of Waterloo

Publications

His campaign journal covering the years 1793 to 1794 was published in 1796:
 * Kampagne-Journal der Jahre 1793 und 1794 (Berlin: Decker, 1796)

A second edition of this diary, together with some of Blücher's letters, was published in 1914:
 * Vorwärts! Ein Husaren-Tagebuch und Feldzugsbriefe von Gebhardt Leberecht von Blücher, introduced by General Field Marshal von der Goltz, edited by Heinrich Conrad (Munich: G. Müller, [1914])

His collected writings and letters (together with those of Yorck and Gneisenau) appeared in 1932:
 * Gesammelte Schriften und Briefe / Blücher, Yorck, Gneisenau, compiled and edited by Edmund Th. Kauer (Berlin-Schöneberg: Oestergaard, [1932])

Family and descendants
Blücher was married twice: in 1773 to Karoline Amalie von Mehling (1756–1791) and, after her death, in 1795 to Katharine Amalie von Colomb (1772–1850), sister of General Peter von Colomb. While this second marriage was without issue, by his first marriage Blücher had seven children, of whom two sons and a daughter survived infancy,

 * Franz Ferdinand Joachim (1778–1829), major general in the Prussian army, wounded in battle in 1813 and thereafter mentally ill;
 * Friedrich Gebhardt Lebrecht (1780–1834).
 * Bernhardine Friederike (1786–1870).

The marshal's grandson, Count Gebhard Bernhard von Blücher (1799–1875), was created Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt (Serene Highness) in Prussia, a hereditary title in primogeniture, the other members of his branch bearing the title count or countess. In 1832, he bought Raduň Castle in the Opava District and in 1847 the lands at Wahlstatt, Legnickie Pole, all of which remained in the family until the flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1945, which forced the family into exile in their mansion Havilland Hall in Guernsey, acquired by the 4th prince and his English wife, Evelyn, Princess Blücher. Later the family moved to Eurasburg, Bavaria. The present head of the House of Blücher von Wahlstatt is Nicolaus, 8th Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt (born 1932), the heir apparent is his son, hereditary count Lukas (born 1956).

Honours
He received the following orders and decorations: • Kingdom of Prussia:

• * Pour le Mérite, 4 June 1789

• * Knight of the Black Eagle, April 1807

• * Knight of the Red Eagle

• * Iron Cross, 1st Class; Grand Cross, 1813; with Star, 1815

•  Austrian Empire: Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, 1813

• 🇩🇰 Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 4 July 1815

•  Kingdom of Hanover: Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, 1816

•  Electorate of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Golden Lion, 11 December 1815

• 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Military William Order, 8 July 1815

• 🇪🇸 Spain: Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, 3 July 1811

•  Sweden: Knight of the Seraphim, 28 April 1814

•  undefined: Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath (military), 18 August 1815

•  Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 1814

•  Russian Empire:

• * Knight of St. George, 1st Class, 8 October 1813

• * Knight of St. Andrew, 11 October 1813

• * Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, 11 October 1813

• * Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class

• * Sword of Honour "for Bravery"

Museums
The Rhineland town of Kaub has a museum dedicated to Blücher, commemorating in particular his crossing the Rhine with the Prussian and Russian armies, on New Year's night 1813–1814, in pursuit of the French.

Statues
After Blücher's death, statues were erected to his memory at Berlin, Breslau, Rostock, and Kaub (where his troops crossed the Rhine in pursuit of Napoleon's forces in 1813).

Blücher is honoured with a bust in the Walhalla temple near Regensburg.

Locomotives and ships
In gratitude for Blücher's service, George Stephenson, the pioneering British locomotive engineer, named a locomotive after him. The small mining village a few miles from Stephenson's birthplace in Wylam also bears the name Blucher in honour of him.

The Blucher was named after him, after the original ship was captured by the British and the new owners named it for him.

Three ships of the German navy have been named in honour of Blücher. The first to be so named was the corvette SMS Blücher (1877), built at Kiel's Norddeutsche Schiffbau AG (later renamed the Krupp-Germaniawerft) and launched 20 March 1877. Taken out of service after a boiler explosion in 1907, she ended her days as a coal freighter in Vigo, Spain.

On 11 April 1908, the Panzerkreuzer SMS Blücher was launched from the Imperial Shipyard in Kiel. This ship was sunk on 24 January 1915 in the First World War at the Battle of Dogger Bank.

The Second World War German heavy cruiser Blücher was completed in September 1939, and pronounced ready for service on 5 April 1940 after completing a series of sea trials and training exercises. The vessel was sunk four days later near Oslo during the invasion of Norway.

Film portrayals
Blücher was played by German actor Otto Gebühr in the 1929 film Waterloo. In 1932, he was the subject of the biographical film Marshal Forwards, in which he was played by Paul Wegener. It was part of a group of Prussian films released during the era.

He was portrayed by Soviet actor Sergo Zakariadze in the 1970 Soviet-Italian film Waterloo.

Miscellany
Blücher also has a boarding house named after him at Berkshire based Wellington College. The Blucher, as it is known, is a boys' house renowned for sporting and academic prowess.

A popular German saying, ran wie Blücher gehen ("to charge like Blücher"), meaning that someone is taking very direct and aggressive action, in war or otherwise, refers to Blücher. The full German saying, now obsolete, relates to the Battle of the Katzbach in 1813: "ran wie Blücher an der Katzbach gehen" ("to advance like Blücher at Katzbach"), describing vigorous, forceful behaviour.

Vasily Blyukher's last name was given to his family by a landlord in honour of Gebhard.

Near Twickenham Stadium is the Prince Blucher pub.

title: Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher


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Sunndal

is a municipality in the Nordmøre region located in the northeast part of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Sunndalsøra. Other villages include Gjøra, Grøa, Hoelsand, Jordalsgrenda, Romfo, Ålvund, Ålvundeidet, and Øksendalsøra. With an area of 1713 km2, it is the largest municipality in Møre og Romsdal county. The important occupations in Sunndal include industry (with Hydro Aluminium Sunndal as the biggest employer), public services, retail, and farming.

The 1713 km2 municipality is the 47th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway and it is the largest in Møre og Romsdal county. Sunndal is the 141st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,110. The municipality's population density is 4.3 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 1.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The parish of Sunndal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1854, the northern part of the municipality (population: 1,291) was separated to form the new municipality of Øksendal. This left 2,188 residents in Sunndal.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the neighboring municipalities of Ålvundeid (population: 513) and Øksendal (population: 497) were merged with Sunndal (population: 5,851) to form a new, larger Sunndal municipality. Both Ålvundeid and Øksendal were historically part of the municipality before 1854. Then, on 1 January 1965, the Ålvund-Ålvundfjorden area of the neighboring Stangvik Municipality (population: 508) was transferred to Sunndal.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Sunndalen valley (Sunndalr). The first element is sunnr or which mean "southern". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name was spelled Sunddalen (or Sunndalen). In 1870, the spelling was changed to Sundalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Sunndal, adding an "n" and removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 12 April 1983. The official blazon is "Vert, a wormwood plant argent" (I grønt en sølv malurt). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a Norwegian wormwood (Artemisia norvegica) plant. The plant has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen in a competition for the municipal arms. This design was chosen since this plant species is only found in a few places in the world. It has its main European distribution in Sunndal and neighboring Oppdal in the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park and in Trollheimen landscape protection area. Small populations are also found in Ryfylke, Scotland, and the Ural Mountains, with another subspecies in the mountains of Northern America. This plant can be found in abundance in many places in the mountains of Sunndal well above tree line. The arms were designed by Svein Thuen Rasmussen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Sunndal. It is part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
Sunndal is bordered on the west by Molde Municipality and Tingvoll Municipality, on the north by Surnadal Municipality, on the east by Oppdal Municipality (in Trøndelag county) and on the south by Lesja Municipality (in Innlandet county).

In the southern part of the municipality lies the Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park, home to a plentiful amount of impressive muskox. In the northern part is the Trollheimen and Innerdalen landscape protection areas.

The municipality centers around the Sunndalsfjorden and the river Driva. There are also many towering mountains including: Trolla, Storskrymten, Vinnufjellet (with peaks Dronningkrona and Kongskrona), Innerdalstårnet, Salhøa, Såtbakkollen, Skarfjellet, and Vassnebba. The Vinnufossen and Svøufallet waterfalls both lie near the river Driva.

Climate
Sunndalsøra has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). Atlantic lows can produce a strong foehn effect in winter as the air is forced over the mountains surrounding Sunndalsøra. Sunndalsøra has the national record high for January and February. The record high 32.1 °C is from July 2014, and the record low -18.9 °C is from February 2010.

Government
Sunndal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Møre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sunndal 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.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Sunndal:

 * 1838–1839: Jørgen Dalsbø
 * 1840–1843: Ole Christian Berner
 * 1843–1843: Anders Bjørnhjell
 * 1844–1845: Jørgen Dalsbø
 * 1846–1849: Christen Mamen Glückstad
 * 1850–1851: Anders Andersen Aaram
 * 1852–1853: Lars Olsen Haaven
 * 1854–1857: Lars Olsen Haaven
 * 1858–1861: Christian August Randers
 * 1862–1865: John Larsen Haaven
 * 1866–1868: Christian August Randers
 * 1869–1871: Ole Olsen Vennevold
 * 1872–1885: John Olsen Flatvad (V)
 * 1886–1887: Ole Olsen Vennevold (V)
 * 1888–1889: Endre Gunnarsen Nisja (MV)
 * 1890–1891: John Olsen Flatvad (V)
 * 1892–1895: Peder Toresen Hoaas (V)
 * 1896–1901: Ingebrigt Gunnarsen Forseth (V)
 * 1902–1910: Gunnar Endresen Nisja (V)
 * 1911–1913: Lars Pedersen (V)
 * 1914–1916: Gunnar Ingebrigtsen Forseth (V)
 * 1917–1919: Lars Pedersen (V)
 * 1920–1922: Gunnar Endresen Nisja (V)
 * 1923–1924: Petter Pedersen Vik (Bp)
 * 1924–1925: Edvard Svanøe (FV)
 * 1926–1937: Gunnar Ingebrigtsen Forseth (Bp)
 * 1938–1941: Johan Sletnes (V)
 * 1941–1945: Henrik Børseth (NS)
 * 1945–1945: Johan Sletnes (V)
 * 1946–1951: Nils Walseth (V)
 * 1952–1958: Ole Bruset (Ap)
 * 1958–1959: Harald Romundset (Ap)
 * 1960–1973: Oskar Edøy (Ap)
 * 1974–1975: Bjarne Sundstrøm (Ap)
 * 1976–1979: Jakob Veiset (Ap)
 * 1980–1987: Reidun Romfo (Ap)
 * 1988–2003: Jan Silseth (Ap)
 * 2003–2007: Knut Reinset (Sp)
 * 2007–2009: Tove-Lise Torve (Ap)
 * 2009–present: Ståle Refstie (Ap)

Notable people

 * Barbara Arbuthnott (1822–1904), a Scottish woman who lived in Sunndal who engaged in charitable work and wrote about her life
 * Hagbard Emanuel Berner (1839 in Sunndal – 1920), a jurist, politician, and newspaper editor
 * Nils Sletbak (1896 in Sunndal – 1982), a jurist and theatre director
 * Oskar Edøy (1916–2008), a politician and mayor of Sunndal from 1959-1973
 * Einar Sæter (1917 in Øksendal – 2010), a triple jumper, resistance member, newspaper editor, and writer
 * Tor Erik Jenstad (born 1956 in Sunndal), a linguist, dictionary editor, and traditional Norwegian folk musician
 * Tove-Lise Torve (born 1964 in Sunndalsøra), a nurse, politician, and mayor of Sunndal from 2007-2009

Sport

 * Tor Erik Torske (born 1983), a footballer with 275 club caps
 * Andrine Hegerberg (born 1993 in Sunndalsøra), a footballer
 * Guro Reiten (born 1994 in Sunndalsøra), a footballer
 * Ada Hegerberg (born 1995), a footballer who was brought up in Sunndalsøra
 * Oeyvind Nerland (born 1981), an oil and gas project manager with over 50 years of experience, Comedian and philanthropist

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Sunndal


text:
Aure

Aure may refer to:

France

 * Aure, Ardennes, a commune of the Ardennes département
 * Aure (river), a river in northwestern France

Norway

 * Aure, Norway, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county
 * Aure (village), a village in Aure Municipality, Møre og Romsdal county
 * Aure, Sykkylven, a village in Sykkylven, Møre og Romsdal county

People

 * Aud Inger Aure, a Norwegian politician for the Christian People's Party
 * Aure Atika, a French actress, writer and director

Other

 * Aure et Saint-Girons, a French breed of cattle

title: Aure


text:
Rindal

Rindal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre is the village of Rindal. Other villages in the municipality include Tiset and Romundstad. The municipality centres on agriculture and forestry services.

The 632 km2 municipality is the 185th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rindal is the 283rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,957. The municipality's population density is 3.2 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The parish of Rindal was established as a municipality in 1858 when it was separated from Surnadal Municipality. It was originally located within Møre og Romsdal county. The initial population of Rindal was 2,684. On 1 January 2008, the Fossdalen farm (population: 4) was transferred from Rindal (in Møre og Romsdal county) to Hemne Municipality (in Sør-Trøndelag county). On 1 January 2019, the municipality of Rindal was transferred from Møre og Romsdal county to Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Rindal farm (Rindudalr) since the first Rindal Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Rinda which is derived from the verb which means to "run" or "flow". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Rindalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Rindal, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 20 January 1989. The official blazon is "Vert, a gavel Or" (I grønt en opprett gull klubbe). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a gavel. The gavel 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 gavel is meant to symbolize John Neergaard, who is considered the father of municipal governments in Norway, (formannskapets far), who was from Rindal. He was responsible for pushing for local government reform which led to the approval of the Formannskapsdistrikt law in 1837. The arms were designed by Einar Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Rindal. It was historically part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. On 1 January 2020, the parish of Rindal was transferred to the Orkdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros. This transfer was a result of the municipality of Rindal being transferred from Møre og Romsdal county to Trøndelag county in 2019.

Geography
The municipality lies in the southwestern part of Trøndelag county, along the border with Møre og Romsdal county. Rindal formerly was part of Møre og Romsdal and at that time, it was the only landlocked municipality in that county. The lakes Foldsjøen and Gråsjøen lie along the border with Surnadal to the southwest. The large river Surna begins in Rindal at the confluence of the rivers Tiåa and Lomunda. The Trollheimen mountain range runs through southern Rindal. The Grønkjølen Nature Reserve lies in the extreme northwest of the municipality.

The municipality of Surnadal lies to the west in Møre og Romsdal county. Rindal shares a border with five other municipalities to the north, east, and south: Hemne, Orkdal, Meldal, Rennebu, and Oppdal.

Government
Rindal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Rindal is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Rindal:

 * 1859–1867: Lars O. Løseth
 * 1868–1892: Peder J. Romundstad (V)
 * 1893-1893: Anders Haagensli (MV)
 * 1894–1897: Ole Langli (MV/H)
 * 1898–1901: Ole Børset (V)
 * 1902–1904: John P. Romundstad (V)
 * 1905–1907: Einar Einarsen (V)
 * 1908–1913: John O. Langli (V)
 * 1914–1919: John P. Romundstad (V)
 * 1920–1925: John O. Langli (Bp)
 * 1926–1928: Torleiv Bakken (V)
 * 1929–1931: John O. Langli (Bp)
 * 1932–1934: John Gåsvatn (Bp)
 * 1934-1934: John O. Langli (Bp)
 * 1935–1940: Mikkel Bakken (Bp)
 * 1948–1963: Nils O. Aune (Bp)
 * 1963-1967: Arne Sæter (KrF)
 * 1988-1991: Paul Haugen (Sp)
 * 1992-2005: Ola T. Heggem (Sp)
 * 2005-2007: Hanne Tove Baalsrud (Sp)
 * 2007-2011: John Ole Aspli (Ap)
 * 2011-2019: Ola T. Heggem (Sp)
 * 2019–2022: Vibeke Langli (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Mildrid Kattem Aune (Sp)

Notable people

 * Ola T. Heggem (born 1952 in Rindal), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Rindal from 1992-2005 & 2011-2019

Sport

 * Einar Ræder (1896 in Rindal – 1976), a long jumper, competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics
 * Thorvald Heggem (1907 in Rindal - 1976), a Nordic combined skier and cross country skier
 * Sigurd Røen (1909 in Rindal - 1992), a Nordic skier who competed in the 1930s
 * Mikal Kirkholt (1920 in Rindal – 2012), a cross-country skier, team silver medallist at the 1952 Winter Olympics
 * Magnar Ingebrigtsli (1932 in Rindal – 2001), a cross-country skier and biathlete, competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics
 * Eli Landsem (born 1962 in Rindal), a former footballer and coach of the Norway women's national football team, 2009-2012

title: Rindal


text:
Surnadal

Surnadal is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Skei. Other villages in Surnadal include Glærem, Mo, Stangvik, Surnadalsøra, Sylte, Todalsøra, and Åsskard.

A mild climate and rich soil make Surnadal well suited for agriculture. The local economy is based on agriculture, forestry, and industrial production, in addition to services.

The 1366 km2 municipality is the 68th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Surnadal is the 161st most populous municipality in Norway, with a population of 5,912. The municipality's population density is 4.5 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The parish of Surnadal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1858, the eastern district (population: 2,684) was separated from Surnadal to form the new Rindal Municipality. This left Surnadal with 3,105 residents. On 1 January 1877, part of Stangvik Municipality (population: 50) was transferred to Surnadal. In 1879, part of Surnadal (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 to Surnadal. On 1 January 1897, the Sjøflot farm (population: 27) was also transferred from Stangvik to Surnadal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. 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 municipality of Surnadal with a total population of 5,934.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Surnadalen valley (Súrnardalr). The first element is the genitive case of the river name Surna. The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is which means "valley" 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 was granted on 27 October 1989. The official blazon is "Vert, two bends engrailed above and invected below argent" (På grøn grunn ein skråstilt sølv tvillingstreng laga med taggesnitt). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is two bends that have wavy edges. The charge has a tincture of argent 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 has five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Surnadal. It is part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The municipality is made up by the main valley, Surnadalen 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 mountain range and Sunndal Municipality to the south, the neighboring Rindal Municipality to the east, Heim Municipality 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 forests, fjords, and mountains. The highest mountain peak is Snota at 1668 m 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 where it enters the fjord near Surnadalsøra and Skei. This river is rich in salmon, which attract tourists from the rest of the country and abroad. The lakes Foldsjøen and Gråsjøen lie along the border with the municipality of Rindal 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, depending on winter threshold used (-3 C) gives oceanic, 0 C gives humid continental). The wettest season is August–December, while Feb - May is the driest. The record high 33.6 C recorded 27 July 2018. The warmest night was 29 July 2018 with low 24.5 C. On 14 October 2018 a high of 25.5 C was recorded in Surnadal, the second warmest October temperature in Norway. Winter temperatures can get below -20 C, although that is rare. February 2010 a low of -23.4 C was recorded.

Government
Surnadal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Møre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) 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.

Mayors
The mayors (ordførar) of Surnadal (incomplete list):

 * 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 Møre og Romsdal, and a highway to the city of Trondheim 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), folklore 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 (1968–1993), a member of early Norwegian black metal scene whose real name is Øystein Aarseth
 * Rune Gjeldnes (born 1971), an adventurer and explorer
 * Ivar Loe Bjørnstad (born 1981), a jazz and rock musician

title: Surnadal


text:
Halsa

Halsa is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 2020 when it became part of Heim Municipality in Trondelag county. It was part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre of Halsa was the village of Liabøen. Other villages in the municipality included Todalen, Halsanaustan, Valsøyfjord, Engan, Hjellnes, and Valsøybotnen.

At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the 301 km2 municipality was the 279th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Halsa was the 349th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,571. The municipality's population density was 5.4 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 6% over the last decade.

General information
The parish of Halsa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1868, an unpopulated area of Halsa was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Straumsnes. On 1 January 1879, a part of Halsa (population: 279) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Stangvik. The next year, the Torjulvågen area (population: 240) on the west side of the Halsafjorden was transferred to Tingvoll Municipality. On 1 July 1915, part of southern Halsa (population: 114) was transferred to Åsskard Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, all of Valsøyfjord Municipality that was located on the mainland (population: 1,104) was merged into Halsa Municipality. On 1 January 1976, the district of Aure Municipality located south of the Vinjefjorden (population: 158) was transferred to Halsa Municipality.

On 1 January 2020, Halsa merged with the neighboring municipality of Hemne and the Ytre Snillfjord area in the municipality of Snillfjord to form Heim Municipality. The new municipality is located in Trøndelag county, which means that as part of the merger Halsa left Møre og Romsdal county and moved to Trøndelag.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Halsa farm (Hǫlsyinjar) since the first Halsa Church was built there. The first element comes from the plural form of the word which means "neck". Here, the word hals is referring to an isthmus (or neck of land) between two fjords: Halsafjorden and the Skålvikfjorden. The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Halse. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Halsa.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 19 August 1988 and it was in use until 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Per bend sinister embattled argent and azure" (Venstre skrådelt av sølv og blått ved tindesnitt). This means the arms have are divided with a diagonal line that is embattled. The field (background) below the line has a tincture of azure. Above the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The embattled line symbolizes the municipal coastline since there are three fjords (Halsafjorden, Skålvikfjorden and Valsøyfjorden) protruding inland from the north coast of the municipality. The arms were designed by Asbjørn Heggem. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Halsa. It was part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
Halsa had numerous fjords in and around the municipality including the Halsafjorden, Vinjefjorden, Arasvikfjorden, Skålvikfjorden, and Valsøyfjorden. The Valsøy Bridge crossed the Valsøyfjorden. There were ferry connections to Tingvoll Municipality to the west and to Aure Municipality to the north.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality falls under the Nordmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Halsa is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Halsa (incomplete list):
 * 1999-2003: Ivar Betten (Ap)
 * 2003-2007: Margrete Seter (LL)
 * 2007-2019: Ola Rognskog (Sp)

Attractions
Halsa was the location where the famous killer whale, Keiko, went when he was set free. Keiko died in December 2003 and was buried there. The people of Halsa have built a memorial cairn over Keiko's body, where people from all over the world are free to visit him. In the first year after his burial, around 5,000 people visited the grave but then fewer and fewer came and in 2007 only around 500 visitors paid him homage. In June 2008, hardly anyone had come to see the grave, so the municipality decided it would not continue keeping the grave in order.

title: Halsa


text:
Tustna

Tustna is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The administrative centre was the village of Gullstein. The municipality is located in the present-day Aure Municipality. The municipality included the main islands of Tustna, Stabblandet, and Solskjelsøya, as well as many smaller, surrounding islets between the Edøyfjorden and the Vinjefjorden. In 2006, when the municipality was merged into Aure, it was 141 km2.

History
Tustna was originally a part of the municipality of Edøy (see formannskapsdistrikt law). A meeting held on 17 March 1863 decided to build a church on the island of Tustern (which was the name of the island at that time) and thereby gain status as a separate parish within the large municipality. Gullstein Church was built in the village of Gullstein on the eastern side of the island in 1864. A royal resolution of 3 May 1873 directed that the parish of Tustern be separated from Edøy Municipality to create a separate municipality effective on 1 January 1874. The new municipality, called Tustna, had an initial population of 1,179.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the part of Tustna on the island of Ertvågsøy (population: 85) was transferred to neighboring Aure Municipality to the east. On 1 January 2006, all of Tustna Municipality was merged into Aure Municipality. At its end, Tustna had a population of 1,006.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Tustna (the Old Norse form of the name may have been Þust), since it is the main island in the municipality. The name of the island was mentioned in historical records, as Toester, on a Dutch map from 1623. The name may be derived from the word ðústr which means "staff" or "walking stick". They could be referring to the form of one of the mountains on the island. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Tusteren. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Tustna.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 October 1988. The official blazon is "Azure, a klippfisk Or" (I blått en gul klippfisk). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a klippfisk (a split and salted dried fish, usually cod). The charge 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 design was chosen to symbolize the importance of the klippfisk industry which was pioneered in the Tustna area starting back in the 1690s. Traditionally the fish was spread out on rock to sun dry which gives the klippfisk its symmetrical shape (as opposed to the stockfish). The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Mayors
The mayors of Tustna:

 * 1874–1875: Peder Trondsen Størseth
 * 1876–1879: Jonas Moe Halse
 * 1880–1913: Gjermund Trondsen Øvrevik
 * 1914–1919: Ole P. Guldsten
 * 1920–1923: Martinius P. Jørgenvåg
 * 1923–1925: Sivert Madsen Follestad
 * 1926–1934: Martinius P. Jørgenvåg
 * 1935–1942: Edvard Øvrevik
 * 1943–1945: Peder M. Jørgenvåg
 * 1945–1947: Johannes H. Nordheim
 * 1948–1951: Thorstein Hamnes
 * 1951–1951: Peder J. Tømmervåg
 * 1952–1959: Johan D. Tømmervåg
 * 1960–1963: Martin Sæterøy
 * 1964–1966: Trygve Høvik
 * 1966–1967: Johan D. Tømmervåg
 * 1968–1971: Magnar Guldstein
 * 1972–1979: Martinius P. Jørgenvåg
 * 1980–1983: Gjermund E. Øvrevik
 * 1984–1987: Nils Hamnes
 * 1988–1988: Jon P. Solheim
 * 1992–1993: Hallvard Husby
 * 1994–1999: Daniel Golmen
 * 1999–2003: Hans G. Lauritzen (Ap)
 * 2003–2005: Ingunn Oldervik Golmen (Sp)

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tustna was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

title: Tustna


text:
Smøla

Smøla is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hopen, other villages include Dyrnes, Råket, and Veiholmen.

The 272 km2 municipality is the 272nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Smøla is the 270th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,158. The municipality's population density is 8.3 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Smøla was established on 1 January 1960 after the merger of Edøy Municipality (population: 1,135), Brattvær Municipality (population: 1,361), and Hopen Municipality (population: 1,550). The initial population of Smøla was 4,046. The boundaries have not changed since that time.

Name
The municipality is named after the main island of Smøla (Smyl or Smjöl). The name is probably related to the Danish word or the modern Norwegian word  which both mean "crumble", referring to the thousands of small islands and islets around the main island. Researchers at the Technical University of Berlin have claimed that Smøla is the island which Pytheas called Thule (Θούλη, Thoúlē).

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 10 March 1989. The official blazon is "Gules, two seagulls volant argent" (I rødt to oppflygende sølv måker). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two flying seagulls. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. This design was chosen to highlight the fact that this is an island community and that is a common type of bird in the area. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has three parishes within the municipality of Smøla. It is part of the Ytre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

In 2019, archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research using large-scale high-resolution georadar technology, determined that a 17 meter long Viking ship was buried on the island of Edøya near one of the churches. They estimate its age as over 1,000 years, from the Merovingian or Viking period; the group hopes to conduct additional searches in the area. A similar burial was found previously by the group, in Gjellestad.

Geography
The municipality of Smøla is located north of the town of Kristiansund, off the western coast of Norway. The municipality consists of the main island of Smøla and more than 3,000 smaller ones. The 216 km2 main island is very flat, the highest peak reaches 64 m above sea level. The highest peak in the municipality is 70 m above sea level, being Ramndalshaugen on the island of Kuli. Almost all of the land area consists of marshes and cliffs; only 5% is cultivated into agricultural land. Other minor islands in the municipality include Edøya, Kuli, and Veiholmen. The municipality is separated from the rest of Norway by the Edøyfjorden to the south.

Due to the vast number of small islands surrounding Smøla, there are several lighthouses. The three most notable ones are Haugjegla Lighthouse (north of Smøla), Skalmen Lighthouse, (northwest of Smøla), and Tyrhaug Lighthouse (southeast of Smøla in the Edøyfjorden).

Scientists of the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformationtechnique of the Technical University of Berlin were testing the antique maps of Ptolemy and recognized a pattern of calculation mistakes that occurred when one tried to convert the old coordinates from Ptolemy into modern cartographical maps. The scientists believe that, when one compensates for these mistakes, the mythological location Thule corresponds to the island of Smøla.

Climate
Smøla has a temperate oceanic climate, also known as a marine west coast climate (Cfb), with a cool summer and mild winter. The year amplitude is only 11.1 C-change from the coldest to the warmest month. The driest season is from April - July, and the wettest season is autumn and winter. The record high is from July 2018, and the record low is from February 2010.

Government
Smøla Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Møre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Smøla is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Smøla:

 * 1960–1963: Henning Talleraas (H)
 * 1964–1967: Aksel Stølen (Ap)
 * 1968–1969: Petter Dalen (Ap)
 * 1970–1971: Aksel Stølen (Ap)
 * 1972–1974: Einar Korsand (V)
 * 1974–1975: Olaf Birkeland (Sp)
 * 1975–1975: Oddleiv Torske (KrF)
 * 1976–1979: Karle Gjernes (V)
 * 1980–1985: Gudmund Restad (Sp)
 * 1985–1987: Hans Vallestad (H)
 * 1988–1991: Joralf Flataukan (H)
 * 1991–2011: Iver Nordseth (V)
 * 2011–2019: Roger Osen (Ap)
 * 2019–present: Svein Roksvåg (Sp)

Media
The newspaper Nordvestnytt has been published in Smøla since 1988.

Energy
On 5 September 2002, Statkraft announced the opening of the Smøla Wind Farm, a 40 MW wind project comprising twenty 2 MW wind turbines by Norway's King Harald V. This corresponds to phase one of the wind project, which when completed will have a total installed capacity of more than 110 MW. Phase two was opened in September 2005 and included forty-eight 2.3 MW wind turbines. All in all, the wind energy production project consists of 68 windmills, making it among the largest wind projects in Europe. With a total generating capacity of 150 MW, the Smøla wind farm's 68 turbines account for more than half of the installed wind power capacity in Norway. The total generating capacity is equivalent to 450 GWh of electricity per year, which corresponds to the average annual power consumption of 22,500 Norwegian households.

Attractions

 * Veiholmen is a large fishing village, north of the main island.
 * Kulisteinen (the Kuli stone), probably one of the best remains which tells about early Christianity in Norway. On one side it has a large cross, which was well known for a long time. Less well known was a runic inscription on the rim of the stone.
 * Old Edøy Church, a restored church dating back to about the year 1190.
 * Deep-sea fishing is a part of the natural environment of Smøla. Smøla provides facilities, guided fishing trips and possibilities for renting fisherman's boats and needed equipment. Participants can expect to catch a large selection of deep sea fish in this area: herring, cod, redfish, perch, monkfish, Atlantic halibut, plaice, carp, char, mackerel, and others.

Notable people

 * Oluf Skarpnes (1932 in Smøla - 2019), a Norwegian jurist and public servant
 * Kåre Bryn (born 1944 in Smøla), a Norwegian diplomat
 * Ingar Knudtsen (born 1944 in Smøla), a Norwegian novelist and poet
 * Marianne Schröder (born 1977 in Smøla), a Norwegian model

title: Smøla


text:
Peter Lamborn Wilson

Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 22, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wilson lived in the Middle East and worked at the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy under the guidance of Iranian philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr, where he explored mysticism and translated Persian texts. Starting from the 1980s he wrote numerous political writings under the pen name of Hakim Bey, illustrating his theory of "ontological anarchy".

His style of anarchism has drawn criticism for its emphasis on individualism and mysticism, as did some of his writings about pederasty, which he later regretted.

Life
Wilson was born in Baltimore on October 20, 1945. While undertaking a classics major at Columbia University, Wilson met Warren Tartaglia, then introducing Islam to students as the leader of a group called the Noble Moors. Attracted by the philosophy, Wilson was initiated into the group, but later joined a group of breakaway members who founded the Moorish Orthodox Church. The Church maintained a presence at the League for Spiritual Discovery, the group established by Timothy Leary.

Appalled by the social and political climate, Wilson decided to leave the United States, and shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., in 1968 he flew to Lebanon, later reaching India with the intention of studying Sufism, but became fascinated by Tantra, tracking down Ganesh Baba. He spent a month in a Kathmandu missionary hospital being treated for hepatitis, and practised meditation techniques in a cave above the east bank of the Ganges. He also allegedly ingested significant quantities of cannabis.

Wilson travelled on to Pakistan. There he lived in several places, mixing with princes, Sufis, and gutter dwellers, and moving from teahouses to opium dens. In Quetta he found "a total disregard of all government", with people reliant on family, clans or tribes, which appealed to him.

Wilson then moved to Iran where that he developed his scholarship. He translated classical Persian texts with French scholar Henry Corbin, and also worked as a journalist at the Tehran Journal. In 1974, Farah Pahlavi Empress of Iran commissioned her personal secretary, scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr, to establish the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy. Nasr offered Wilson the position of director of its English language publications, and editorship of its journal Sophia Perennis, which Wilson edited from 1975 until 1978. He would go on to also publish on the Ni'matullāhī Sufi Order and Isma'ilism with Nasrollah Pourjavady.

Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Wilson lived in New York City, sharing a brownstone townhouse with William Burroughs, with whom he bonded over their shared interests. Burroughs acknowledged Wilson for providing material on Hassan-i Sabbah which he used for his novel The Western Lands.

In later life, Wilson lived in upstate New York in conditions he termed "independently poor". He has been described as "a subcultural monument".

In 2020, in a personal letter to Wahid Azal of the Fatimiya Sufi Order, Wilson requested and was accepted as a Bayānī or Azali, a fact which he obliquely alluded to in his two final books published in early 2022.

Wilson died of heart failure on May 22, 2022, in Saugerties, New York.

Hakim Bey
Wilson took an interest in the subculture of zines flourishing in Manhattan in the early 1980s, zines being tiny hand-made photocopied magazines published in small quantities concerning whatever the publishers found compelling. "He began writing essays, communiqués as he liked to call them, under the pen name Hakim Bey, which he mailed to friends and publishers of the 'zines' he liked. ... His mailouts were immediately popular, and regarded as copyright-free syndicated columns ready for anyone to paste into their photocopied 'zines'..."

Wilson's occasional pen name of Hakim Bey was derived from il-Hakim, the alchemist-king, with 'Bey' a further nod to Moorish Science. Wilson's two personas, as himself and Bey, were facilitated by his publishers who provide separate author biographies even when both appeared in the same publication.

His Temporary Autonomous Zones work has been referenced in comparison to the "free party" or teknival scene of the rave subculture. Wilson was supportive of the rave connection, while remarking in an interview, "The ravers were among my biggest readers ... I wish they would rethink all this techno stuff — they didn't get that part of my writing."

According to Gavin Grindon, in the 1990s, the British group Reclaim the Streets was heavily influenced by the ideas put forward in Hakim Bey's The Temporary Autonomous Zone. Their adoption of the carnivalesque into their form of protest evolved eventually into the first "global street party" held in cities across the world on May 16, 1998, the day of a G8 summit meeting in Birmingham. These "parties", explained Grindon, in turn developed into the Carnivals Against Capitalism, in London on June 18, 1999, organized by Reclaim the Streets in coordination with worldwide antiglobalization protests called by the international network Peoples' Global Action during the 25th G8 summit meeting in Cologne, Germany.

In 2013, Wilson commented on the Occupy Movement in an interview with David Levi Strauss of The Brooklyn Rail:

"I was beginning to feel that there would never be another American uprising, that the energy was gone, and I have some reasons to think that might be true. I like to point out that the crime rate in America has been declining for a long time, and in my opinion it's because Americans don't even have enough gumption to commit crimes anymore: the creative aspect of crime has fallen into decay. As for the uprising that takes a principled stand against violence, hats off to them, I admire the idealism, but I don't think it's going to accomplish much."

In another interview with David Levi Strauss and Christopher Bamford in The Brooklyn Rail, Bey discussed his views on what he called "Green Hermeticism": "We all agreed that there is not a sufficient spiritual focus for the environmental movement. And without a spiritual focus, a movement like this doesn't generate the kind of emotional energy that it needs to battle against global capitalism—that for which there is no other reality, according to most people. It should be a rallying call of the spirit for the environmental movement, or for as many parts of that movement as could be open to it."

Ontological anarchy
In the compilation of essays called "Immediatism" Wilson explained his particular conception of anarchism and anarchy, which he called "ontological anarchy". In the same compilation he dealt with his view of the relationships of individuals with the exterior world as perceived by the senses and a theory of liberation which he called "immediatism".

Temporary autonomous zones
Wilson penned articles on three different types of what he called temporary autonomous zones (TAZ). Regarding his concept of TAZ, he said in an interview: "... the real genesis was my connection to the communal movement in America, my experiences in the 1960s in places like Timothy Leary's commune in Millbrook ... Usually only the religious ones last longer than a generation—and usually at the expense of becoming quite authoritarian, and probably dismal and boring as well. I've noticed that the exciting ones tend to disappear, and as I began to further study this phenomenon, I found that they tend to disappear in a year or a year and a half."

The concept of TAZ was presented in a long elaboration in the book TAZ: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism, published by Autonomedia in 1991. At the time of his death the book had sold over 50,000 copies and was the publisher's perennial bestseller.

Criticism and controversy
Murray Bookchin included Wilson's work (as Bey) in what he called "lifestyle anarchism", where he criticized Wilson's writing for tendencies towards mysticism, occultism, and irrationalism. Wilson did not respond publicly. Bob Black wrote a rejoinder to Bookchin in Anarchy after Leftism.

Some writers have been troubled by what they took to be Bey's endorsement of adults having sex with children, but other writers defended him. Michael Muhammad Knight, a novelist and former friend of Wilson, stated that "writing for NAMBLA amounts to activism in real life. As Hakim Bey, Peter creates a child molester's liberation theology and then publishes it for an audience of potential offenders" and disavowed his former mentor. In a compilation of memorial tributes in The Brooklyn Rail published a few months after Wilson's death, many writers defended Wilson and rejected the accusation of pedophilia. Raymond Foye called him "discreet and courteous, and in all the years I knew him I never heard him gossip or say an ill word against anyone" and reported that Wilson was a literary provocateur who "regretted things he had written". Foye attributed the accusation that Wilson was a pedophile to "skillful manipulations of his writings in a hate website". Kalan Sherrard wrote that after "meeting tons of young people who grew up with him it became totally evident he had never hurt anyone / and people were just freaked out by his writing". Charles Stein argued that what Wilson wrote on the subject made sense in relation to his : "His writing on the subject of pederasty was totally principled in relation to his work. The fact that this is one of the things people are not allowed to think about was not something to deter Peter. Having encountered the subject, he wasn't going to go there. And if one is so overwhelmed by the Jungian shadow of the topic, then you cannot make use of his work. Because the whole purpose of the work was to throw light on the shadow."

John Zerzan described Bey as a "postmodern liberal", possessing a "method" that was "as appalling as his claims to truthfulness, and essentially conforms to textbook postmodernism. Aestheticism plus knownothingism is the [...] formula; cynical as to the possibility of meaning, allergic to analysis, hooked on trendy word-play", and "basically reformist".

Works

 * The Winter Calligraphy of Ustad Selim, & Other Poems (1975) (Ipswich, England) ISBN 0-903880-05-9
 * Science and Technology in Islam (1976) (with Leonard Harrow)
 * Traditional Modes of Contemplation & Action (1977) (editor, with Yusuf Ibish)
 * Nasir-I Khusraw: 40 Poems from the Divan (1977) (translator and editor, with Gholamreza Aavani) ISBN 0-87773-730-4
 * DIVAN (1978) (poems, London/Tehran)
 * Kings of Love: The Poetry and History of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order of Iran (1978) (translator and editor, with Nasrollah Pourjavady; Tehran)
 * Angels (1980, 1994) ISBN 0-500-11017-4 (abridged edition: ISBN 0-500-81044-3)
 * Weaver of Tales: Persian Picture Rugs (1980) (with Karl Schlamminger)
 * Divine Flashes (1982) (by Fakhruddin 'Iraqi, translated and introduced with William C. Chittick; Paulist Press (Mahwah, New Jersey)) ISBN 0-8091-2372-X
 * Crowstone: The Chronicles of Qamar (1983) (as Hakim)
 * CHAOS: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism (1985) (as Hakim Bey; Grim Reaper Press (Weehawken, New Jersey))
 * Semiotext(e) USA (1987) (co-editor, with Jim Fleming)
 * Scandal: Essays in Islamic Heresy (1988) (Autonomedia (Brooklyn, New York)) ISBN 0-936756-15-2
 * The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry (1988) (translator and editor, with Nasrollah Pourjavady) ISBN 0-933999-65-8
 * Semiotext(e) SF (1989) (co-editor, with Rudy Rucker and Robert Anton Wilson)
 * The Universe: A Mirror of Itself (1992?) (Xexoxial Editions (La Farge, Wisconsin))
 * Aimless Wanderings: Chuang Tzu's Chaos Linguistics (1993) (as Hakim Bey; Xexoxial Editions (La Farge, Wisconsin))
 * Sacred Drift: Essays on the Margins of Islam (1993) (City Lights Books (San Francisco)) ISBN 0-87286-275-5
 * The Little Book of Angel Wisdom (1993, 1997) ISBN 1-85230-436-7 ISBN 1-86204-048-6
 * O Tribe That Loves Boys: The Poetry of Abu Nuwas (1993) (translator and editor, as Hakim Bey) ISBN 90-800857-3-1
 * Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs and European Renegadoes (1995, 2003) (Autonomedia (Brooklyn, New York)) ISBN 1-57027-158-5
 * Millennium (1996) (as Hakim Bey; Autonomedia (Brooklyn, New York) and Garden of Delight (Dublin, Ireland)) ISBN 1-57027-045-7
 * "Shower of Stars" Dream & Book: The Initiatic Dream in Sufism and Taoism (1996) (Autonomedia (Brooklyn, New York)) ISBN 1-57027-036-8
 * Escape from the Nineteenth Century and Other Essays (1998) (Autonomedia (Brooklyn, New York)) ISBN 1-57027-073-2
 * Wild Children (1998) (co-editor, with Dave Mandl)
 * Avant Gardening: Ecological Struggle in the City & the World (1999) (co-editor, with Bill Weinberg) ISBN 1-57027-092-9
 * Ploughing the Clouds: The Search for Irish Soma (1999) ISBN 0-87286-326-3
 * TAZ: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism, Second Edition (2003) (as Hakim Bey; incorporates full text of CHAOS and Aimless Wanderings; Autonomedia (Brooklyn, New York)) ISBN 1-57027-151-8
 * Orgies of the Hemp Eaters (2004) (co-editor as Hakim Bey with Abel Zug) ISBN 1-57027-143-7
 * rain queer (2005) (Farfalla Press (Brooklyn, New York)) ISBN 0-9766341-1-2
 * Cross-Dressing in the Anti-Rent War (Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs chapbook, 2005)
 * Gothick Institutions (2005) ISBN 0-9770049-0-2
 * Green Hermeticism: Alchemy and Ecology; (with Christopher Bamford and Kevin Townley, Lindisfarne (2007)) ISBN 1-58420-049-9
 * Black Fez Manifesto as Hakim Bey (2008) ISBN 978-1-57027-187-8
 * Atlantis Manifesto (2nd edition, 2009) Shivastan Publishing limited edition
 * Abecedarium (2010) ISBN 978-0977004980
 * Ec(o)logues (Station Hill of Barrytown, 2011) ISBN 978-1-58177-115-2
 * Nostalgia/Utopia with Francesco Clemente (Hirmer Publishers, Mary Boone Gallery, 2012) ISBN 978-3-7774-5321-7
 * Spiritual Destinations of an Anarchist (2014) ISBN 978-1620490563
 * Spiritual Journeys of an Anarchist (2014) ISBN 978-1620490549
 * Riverpeople (2014) ISBN 978-1570272608
 * Opium Dens I Have Known with Chris Martin (2014) Shivastan Publishing limited edition
 * Anarchist Ephemera (2016) ISBN 978-1620490709
 * False Documents (Barrytown/Station Hill Press, Inc., 2016) ISBN 978-1581771404
 * Heresies: Anarchist Memoirs, Anarchist Art (2016) ISBN 978-1570273001
 * School of Nite with Nancy Goldring (2016) ISBN 978-1941550823
 * Night Market Noodles and Other Tales (2017) ISBN 978-1570273162
 * The Temple of Perseus at Panopolis (2017) ISBN 978-1570272875
 * Vanished Signs (2018) ISBN 978-0999783115
 * Lucky Shadows (2018) ISBN 978-1936687435
 * The New Nihilism (Bottle of Smoke Press, 2018) ISBN 978-1937073725
 * Utopian Trace: An Oral Presentation (2019) ISBN 978-0578491103
 * The American Revolution as a Gigantic Real Estate Scam: And Other Essays in Lost/Found History (2019) ISBN 978-1570273575
 * Cauda Pavonis: Esoteric Antinomianism in the Yezidi Tradition (2019) ISBN 978-1945147401
 * Hoodoo Metaphysics with Tamara Gonzales (Bearpuff Press, 2019) ISBN 978-0-9829039-5-7
 * False Messiah: Crypto-Xtian Tracts and Fragments (2022) ISBN 978-1735043210
 * Peacock Angel: The Esoteric Tradition of the Yezidis (2022) ISBN 978-1644114124

title: Peter Lamborn Wilson