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Acer platanoides

Acer platanoides, commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to North America in the mid-1700s as a shade tree. It is a member of the family Sapindaceae.

Description
Acer platanoides is a deciduous tree, growing to 20 - 30 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m in diameter, and a broad, rounded crown. The bark is grey-brown and shallowly grooved. Unlike many other maples, mature trees do not tend to develop a shaggy bark. The shoots are green at first, soon becoming pale brown. The winter buds are shiny red-brown.

The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with five lobes, 7 - 14 cm long and 8 - 25 cm across; the lobes each bear one to three side teeth, and an otherwise smooth margin. The leaf petiole is 8 - 20 cm long, and secretes a milky juice when broken. The autumn colour is usually yellow, occasionally orange-red.

The flowers are in corymbs of 15–30 together, yellow to yellow-green with five sepals and five petals 3 - 4 mm long; flowering occurs in early spring before the new leaves emerge. The fruit is a double samara with two winged seeds. the seeds are disc-shaped, strongly flattened, 10 - 15 mm across and 3 mm thick. The wings are 3 - 5 cm long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle. It typically produces a large quantity of viable seeds.

Under ideal conditions in its native range, Norway maple may live up to 250 years, but often has a much shorter life expectancy; in North America, for example, sometimes only 60 years. Especially when used on streets, it can have insufficient space for its root network and is prone to the roots wrapping around themselves, girdling and killing the tree. In addition, their roots tend to be quite shallow and thereby they easily out-compete nearby plants for nutrient uptake. Norway maples often cause significant damage and cleanup costs for municipalities and homeowners when branches break off in storms as they do not have strong wood.

Classification and identification

The Norway maple is a member (and is the type species) of the section Platanoidea Pax, characterised by flattened, disc-shaped seeds and the shoots and leaves containing milky sap. Other related species in this section include Acer campestre (field maple), Acer cappadocicum (Cappadocian maple), Acer lobelii (Lobel's maple), and Acer truncatum (Shandong maple). From the field maple, the Norway maple is distinguished by its larger leaves with pointed, not blunt, lobes, and from the other species by the presence of one or more teeth on all of the lobes.

It is also frequently confused with the more distantly related Acer saccharum (sugar maple). The sugar maple is easy to differentiate by clear sap in the petiole (leaf stem); Norway maple petioles have white sap. The tips of the points on Norway maple leaves reduce to a fine "hair", while the tips of the points on sugar maple leaves are, on close inspection, rounded. On mature trees, sugar maple bark is more shaggy, while Norway maple bark has small, often criss-crossing grooves. While the shape and angle of leaf lobes vary somewhat within all maple species, the leaf lobes of Norway maple tend to have a more triangular (acuminate) shape, in contrast to the more finely toothed lobes of sugar maples, that narrow towards the base. Flowering and seed production begins at ten years of age, however large quantities of seeds are not produced until the tree is 20. As with most maples, Norway maple is normally dioecious (separate male and female trees), occasionally monoecious, and trees may change gender from year to year.

The fruits of Norway maple are paired samaras with widely diverging wings, distinguishing them from those of sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus which are at 90 degrees to each other. Norway maple seeds are flattened, while those of sugar maple are globose. The sugar maple usually has a brighter orange autumn color, where the Norway maple is usually yellow, although some of the red-leaved cultivars appear more orange.

The flowers emerge in spring before the leaves and last 2-3 weeks. Leafout of Norway maple occurs roughly when air temperatures reach 55°F (12°C) and there is at least 13 hours of daylight. Leaf drop in autumn is initiated when day lengths fall to approximately 10 hours. Depending on the latitude, leaf drop may vary by as much as three weeks, beginning in the second week of October in Scandinavia and the first week of November in southern Europe. Unlike some other maples that wait for the soil to warm up, A. platanoides seeds require only three months of exposure to temperatures lower than 40 F and will sprout in early spring, around the same time that leafout begins. Norway maple does not require freezing temperatures for proper growth, however it is adapted to higher latitudes with long summer days and does not perform well when planted south of the 37th parallel, the approximate southern limit of its range in Europe. Further, most North American Norway maples are believed descended from stock brought from Germany, at approximately 48N to 54N, not the more southerly ecotypes found in Italy and the Balkans that evolved for similar lighting conditions as the continental United States. The heavy seed crop and high germination rate contributes to its invasiveness in North America, where it forms dense monotypic stands that choke out native vegetation. The tree is also capable of growing in low lighting conditions within a forest canopy, leafs out earlier than most North American maple species, and its growing season tends to run longer as the lighting conditions of the United States (see above) result in fall dormancy occurring later than it does in the higher latitude of Europe. It is one of the few introduced species that can successfully invade and colonize a virgin forest. By comparison, in its native range, Norway maple is rarely a dominant species and instead occurs mostly as a scattered understory tree.

Cultivation and uses

The wood is hard, yellowish-white to pale reddish, with the heartwood not distinct; it is used for furniture and woodturning. Norway maple sits ambiguously between hard and soft maple with a Janka hardness of 1,010 lbf. The wood is rated as non-durable to perishable in regard to decay resistance. In Europe, it is used for furniture, flooring and musical instruments. This species as grown in the former Yugoslavia is also called Bosnian maple and is probably the maple used by the Italian violin makers Stradivari and Guarneri.

Norway maple has been widely taken into cultivation in other areas, including western Europe northwest of its native range. It grows north of the Arctic Circle at Tromsø, Norway. In North America, it is planted as a street and shade tree as far north as Anchorage, Alaska. In Ontario, it is common in cultivation north to Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury; although not considered reliably hardy northward, it has been established at Kapuskasing and Iroquois Falls, and even at Moose Factory. It is most recommended in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 7 but will grow in warmer zones (at least up to Zone 10) where summer heat is moderate, as along the Pacific coast south to the Los Angeles basin. They tend to prefer wetter Oceanic climates. During the 1950s–60s it became popular as a street tree due to the large-scale loss of American elms from Dutch elm disease.

It is favored due to its tall trunk and tolerance of poor, compacted soils and urban pollution, conditions in which the sugar maple has difficulty. It has become a popular species for bonsai in Europe, and is used for medium to large bonsai sizes and a multitude of styles. Norway maples are not typically cultivated for maple syrup production due to the lower sugar content of the sap compared to sugar maple.

Cultivars
Many cultivars have been selected for distinctive leaf shapes or colorations, such as the dark purple of 'Crimson King' and 'Schwedleri', the variegated leaves of 'Drummondii', the light green of 'Emerald Queen', and the deeply divided, feathery leaves of 'Dissectum' and 'Lorbergii'. The purple-foliage cultivars have orange to red autumn colour. 'Columnare' is selected for its narrow upright growth. The cultivars 'Crimson King' and 'Prigold'  have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

As an invasive species in North America
The Norway maple was introduced to northeastern North America between 1750 and 1760 as an ornamental shade tree. It was brought to the Pacific Northwest in the 1870s. Today, Norway maples tend to be most common in the Pacific Northwest, in southern Ontario, and along the Kennebec river in southern Maine. The roots of Norway maples grow very close to the ground surface, starving other plants of moisture. For example, lawn grass (and even weeds) will usually not grow well beneath a Norway maple, but English ivy, with its minimal rooting needs, may thrive. In addition, the dense canopy of Norway maples can inhibit understory growth. Some have suggested Norway maples may also release chemicals to discourage undergrowth, although this claim is controversial. A. platanoides has been shown to inhibit the growth of native saplings as a canopy tree or as a sapling. The Norway maple also suffers less herbivory than the sugar maple, allowing it to gain a competitive advantage against the latter species. As a result of these characteristics, it is considered invasive in some states, and has been banned for sale in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The state of New York has classified it as an invasive plant species. Despite these steps, the species is still available and widely used for urban plantings in many areas.

Natural enemies
The larvae of a number of species of Lepidoptera feed on Norway maple foliage. Ectoedemia sericopeza, the Norway maple seedminer, is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. The larvae emerge from eggs laid on the samara and tunnel to the seeds. Norway maple is generally free of serious diseases, though can be attacked by the powdery mildew Uncinula bicornis, and verticillium wilt disease caused by Verticillium spp. "Tar spots" caused by Rhytisma acerinum infection are common but largely harmless. Aceria pseudoplatani is an acarine mite that causes a 'felt gall', found on the underside of leaves of both sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) and Norway maples.

title: Acer platanoides


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Kaspar von Barth

Kaspar von Barth (21 June 1587 – 17 September 1658) was a German philologist and writer.

Barth was born at Küstrin (today Kostrzyn in Poland) in the Neumark region of Brandenburg. A precocious child, he was looked upon as a marvel of learning. After studying at Gotha, Eisenach, Wittenberg, and Jena, he travelled extensively, visiting most of the countries of Europe. Too independent to accept any regular post, he lived alternately at Halle and on his property at Sellerhausen in Leipzig.

Because his library and manuscripts were destroyed by a fire at Sellerhausen, Barth moved to the Paulinum at Leipzig, where he died. Barth was a voluminous writer. Regarding Barth and his output, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica gives the following judgment: "his works, which were the fruits of extensive reading and a retentive memory, are unmethodical and uncritical and marred by want of taste and of clearness. He appears to have been excessively vain and of an unamiable disposition." That article considered the following to be his most important writings:

 * Adversariorum commentariolum in 60 books (Frankfurt 1624, reprinted in 1658), a storehouse of miscellaneous learning, dealing not only with classical but also with medieval and modern writers
 * commentaries on Claudian (1650)
 * commentaries on Statius (published posthumously at Zwickau in 1664 under the direction of his friend Christian Daum).

In addition, another work can be noted:

 * Caspar Barthen Deutscher Phoenix (Caspar Barthen German Phoenix, 1626)

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

title: Kaspar von Barth


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Haram, Norway

Haram is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative center is Brattvåg, the industrial center of Sunnmøre. Other important villages in the municipality include Austnes, Eidsvik, Helle, Longva, Hildrestranda, Søvik, Tennfjord, and Vatne.

The 261 km2 municipality is the 294th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Haram is the 122nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,345. The municipality's population density is 36.7 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 8.4% over the last decade.

Brattvåg IL is a sports club based in the municipality. Tennfjord Mannskor is a male choir from the village of Tennfjord. The Ulla Lighthouse and Hellevik Lighthouse are both located in the northwestern part of the municipality.

General information
The parish of Haram was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The western island district of Roald was separated from Haram on 1 January 1890 to form the new municipality of Roald. This left 1,956 people left in Haram.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, three municipal changes involving Haram occurred: These three boundary changes created a much larger municipality of Haram.
 * The part of Haram Municipality on the island of Harøya, including the Myklebost area and the smaller surrounding islands to the west of there (population: 287), was separated from Haram Municipality and merged into the neighboring Sandøy Municipality to the northeast.
 * Most of Vatne Municipality (population: 2,260) to the southeast of Haram Municipality was merged into Haram Municipality.
 * The Søvik area in Borgund Municipality (population: 1,191) to the south of Haram Municipality were merged into Haram.

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Haram, Skodje, Ørskog, Sandøy, and Ålesund were merged to form a new, large municipality of Ålesund. This occurred because in June 2017, the Parliament of Norway voted to approve the merger. Soon after the merger, there was discontent among the people who had lived in the old Haram municipality. After lots of discussions, the municipal council of the new Ålesund petitioned the government to reverse that part of the merger and split Haram off as a separate municipality once again. On 3 October 2022, the Parliament of Norway approved a law to split Haram off as a separate municipality effective on 1 January 2024.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Haram farm (Harhamarr) since the first Haram Church was built there. The first element is prefix har- which has an unknown meaning. The last element is which means "stone" or "steep cliff". Prior to 1889, the name was written Harham.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 August 1987 and it was in use until 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Per fess engrailed of three lobes argent and azure" (Delt av sølv og blått med omvend bogesnitt med tre bogar). This means the arms have are divided with a horizontal line that is engrailed three times. 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 design was chosen to look like three waves, symbolizing the importance of the sea in this island municipality. The arms were designed by Eldar Tandstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Dialect
The dialect of the area was well known for its practice of H-dropping and the old and traditional pronunciation of the name of the municipality was.

Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Haram. It is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The municipality of Haram includes many islands including Bjørnøya, Fjørtofta, Haramsøya, Løvsøya, Skuløya, and Terøya. The islands of Bjørnøya and Terøya are connected to the mainland via causeways. The islands of Haramsøya and Skuløya are connected with the Ullasund Bridge. The rest of the islands have ferry connections to the mainland. The new Nordøyvegen bridge and tunnel network will connect all of the main islands of Haram to the mainland when it is completed in 2022. The Haramsfjorden, Vatnefjorden, and Romsdal Fjord all flow through the municipality.

The municipality shares land borders with Vestnes Municipality to the east and Skodje Municipality to the south. The rest of the municipality is surrounded by sea. The municipality also borders (by sea) Sandøy Municipality and Midsund Municipality to the northeast, Ålesund Municipality to the south, and Giske Municipality to the west.

Government
Haram 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 Haram 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 Haram:

 * 1837–1841: Sjur Olsen Hatlemark
 * 1842–1851: Carl Sjursen Haram
 * 1852–1857: Nils Rasmussen Aakre
 * 1858–1862: Jens Kobro Daae
 * 1863–1867: Nils Rasmussen Aakre
 * 1868–1878: Hans Rasmussen Vestre
 * 1879–1900: Nils Ingebrigtsen Alvestad (V)
 * 1901–1911: Nils Nilsen Aakre (V)
 * 1911–1912: Knudt Severin Jonas Olsen Otterlei (V)
 * 1913–1921: Ole Rasmus Knutsen Flem (V)
 * 1922–1925: Knudt Severin Jonas Olsen Otterlei (V)
 * 1926–1928: Martinus Eriksen Otterlei
 * 1929–1934: Karl Gunnarson Rogne (V)
 * 1935–1941: Ole Johanson Skjelten
 * 1941–1945: Martinus Kjerstad (NS)
 * 1945–1955: Lars Larsson Fjørtoft (V)
 * 1984–1985: Robert Hurlen (H)
 * 1986–1988: Svein Ottar Sandal (KrF)
 * 1989–1989: Knut Wahl (Ap)
 * 1990–1991: Robert Hurlen (H)
 * 1992–1999: Margrethe Tennfjord (KrF)
 * 1999–2007: Oddbjørn Vatne (Sp)
 * 2007–2015: Bjørn Sandnes (H)
 * 2015–2019: Vebjørn Krogsæter (Sp)
 * (2020-2023: Haram Municipality was merged into Ålesund Municipality)
 * 2024-present: Vebjørn Krogsæter (Sp)

title: Haram, Norway


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Vestnes

Vestnes is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Vestnes is part of the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestnes. Other villages in the municipality include Vikebukt, Vik, Vågstranda, Øverås, Fiksdal, Tomrefjord, and Tresfjord.

The area is known for nature and outdoor pursuits, and has a long history in ship building and maritime crafts. The village of Vestnes (Helland) dates back to early medieval times, and has 24-hour ferry and water taxi service with the town of Molde to the northeast. The ferry takes about 35-minutes each way.

The 405 km2 municipality is the 239th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vestnes is the 142nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,051. The municipality's population density is 17.7 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 6.4% over the previous 10-year period.

History
The municipality of Vestnes was established in the fall of 1838 when the western district of the large Veøy Municipality was separated to form its own municipality (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1899, the southern district of the municipality (population: 1,408) was separated from Vestnes to form the new municipality of Sylte. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Vestnes (population: 3,895) and Tresfjord, formerly known as Sylte, (population: 1,319) were merged to form a new, larger municipality called Vestnes. On 1 January 2021, the 53 km2 Vågstranda area in the northwestern part of Rauma Municipality was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Vestnes.

A Viking barrow burial was uncovered at Villa Farm near Vestnes in 1894. Now in the British Museum's collection in London, the rich grave finds include a pair of oval brooches and other dress accessories, a comb, remnants of a bucket and a box, a bridle-bit, agricultural tools, a bronze bowl, a whalebone plaque, a weaving batten and a whetstone.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Vestnes farm (Vestnes) since the first Vestnes Church was built there. The first element is which means "west". The last element is which means "headland". Prior to 1889, the name was written Vestnæs.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 11 April 1980. The official blazon is "Gules, two piles issuant from dexter Or" (I raudt to gull spissar mot venstre). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two piles (triangles) extending from the left to the right. 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 arms are designed to symbolize the geography of the municipality: a headland between two fjords—the Tresfjorden and the Tomrefjorden. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Museums
The Møre og Romsdal Agricultural Museum (Landbruksmuseet for Møre og Romsdal) was established in the municipality at the Gjermundnes Farm in 1979.

Churches
The Church of Norway has five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Vestnes. It is part of the Indre Romsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
Vestnes is located in an area of great natural splendour on the southern shores of the vast Romsdal Fjord. The Tresfjorden and Tomrefjorden branch off Romsdal Fjord to the south. Vestnes borders Rauma Municipality to the east, as well as Fjord Municipality and Ålesund Municipality to the south. Across the Moldefjorden to the north is Molde Municipality.

Government
Vestnes 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 Vestnes is made up of 23 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 Vestnes (incomplete list):

 * 1870–1873: Walter Scott Dahl (V)
 * 1876–1883: Walter Scott Dahl (V)
 * 1896-1898: M. P. Sylte
 * 1899–1901: Mads Ellingsæter
 * 1902–1910: Rasmuss Stokkeland
 * 1911–1916: P.L. Legernes
 * 1917–1919: Nils K. Bårdsnes
 * 1920–1922: Anton J. Nerem
 * 1923–1925: Nils K. Bårdsnes
 * 1926–1928: Olav Eidhammer
 * 1929–1931: Peder P. Gjelsten
 * 1932–1934: Olav Eidhammer
 * 1935–1937: Einar Helland
 * 1938-1941: Kristian K Frostad (V)
 * 1941–1945: Olav Rekdal (NS)
 * 1945-1951: Kristian K Frostad (V)
 * 1951-1956: Einar Aas
 * 1956-1957: Olav Tomren
 * 1957-1963: Kåre Rekdal (KrF)
 * 1964-1971: Peder B. Hjelvik (Sp)
 * 1972–1980: Torgeir Stene
 * 1980-1980: Ole S. Øveraas
 * 1981-1985: Georg Balstad
 * 1986-1987: Alf Johan Hustad
 * 1987-1999: Petter Inge Bergheim (Sp)
 * 1999-2003: Roald Fiksdal (Ap)
 * 2003-2007: Knut Magne Flølo (FrP)
 * 2007-2015: Øyvind Uren (Ap)
 * 2015–2021: Geir Inge Lien (Sp)
 * 2021-present: Randi Bergundhaugen (H)

Economy
Vestnes is a relatively good agricultural community with emphasis on livestock and milk production. Vestnes, however, is primarily a manufacturing district. The main industry is the ship-building industry with a number of different companies located in Vestnes. A total of 63% of industry employment (2004) in Vestnes is part of the ship-building industry. Other that shipbuilding, there are several companies in the food, textile and clothing, wood products, furniture, and metal products industries in Vestnes.

Media
The newspaper Vestnesavisa is published in Vestnes.

Transportation
The European route E39 highway goes through Vestnes on its way from Sjøholt to Molde. The European route E136 highway goes through Vestnes on its way from Ålesund to Dombås. The two highways intersect and share part of the route through Vestnes. The new Tresfjord Bridge carries the E136 highway over the Tresfjorden rather than the previous roadway that follows the shoreline all the way around the fjord.

Notable people

 * Peter L. Rypdal (1909 in Tresfjord – 1988), a fiddler and traditional folk music composer
 * Jakob Rypdal (1926 in Tresfjord – 2015), a Norwegian triple jumper
 * Terje Rypdal (born 1947), a Norwegian guitarist and composer who lives in Tresfjord
 * Lodve Solholm (born 1949 in Vestnes), the county governor of Møre og Romsdal from 2009 to 2018
 * Barry Gjerde (born 1951 in Vestnes), a Canadian-Japanese voice actor who works in Japan
 * Bjørn Rune Gjelsten (born 1956 in Tomrefjord), a powerboat racer and joint owner of Wimbledon F.C.
 * Kjetil Rekdal (born 1968 in Vestnes), a football manager and a former footballer with 484 club caps and 83 for Norway
 * Bernt Hulsker (born 1977), a retired footballer with over 250 club caps who grew up in Vestnes

title: Vestnes


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Rauma, Norway

Rauma is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre is the town of Åndalsnes. Other settlements in Rauma include the villages of Måndalen, Innfjorden, Veblungsnes, Verma, Isfjorden, Eidsbygda, Rødven, Åfarnes, and Mittet. Most settlement in the municipality is located along the fjords and in the Romsdalen valley.

The municipality surrounds part of the southern end of Romsdalsfjorden and the Isfjorden and it also includes the Romsdalen valley and Romsdalsalpene mountains. In the lower part of the valleys and around Romsdal Fjord and Rødvenfjorden are driven agriculture with emphasis on livestock. The clothing industry has traditionally been a dominant industry in the municipality, especially in Isfjorden. In the summer, Rauma has a fairly large amount of tourist traffic. The top tourist attractions include mountain climbing/hiking, salmon fishing, Trollstigen, and the historic Rødven Stave Church. The 1449 km2 municipality is the 61st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rauma is the 143rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,046. The municipality's population density is 5.1 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 5.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Rauma was established on 1 January 1964 when the old municipalities of Eid (population: 381), Grytten (population: 3,683), Hen (population: 1,663), Voll (population: 1,163), and the southern part of Veøy (population: 1,400) were all merged to form one larger municipality. On 1 January 2021, the 53 km2 Vågstranda area in the northwestern part of Rauma was transferred to the neighboring Vestnes Municipality.

Name
The municipality is named after the Rauma River (Raumr), which flows through the Romsdalen valley into the Romsdal Fjord. It is uncertain if the fjord is named after the river or the river is named after the fjord. The name likely comes from the word raum which has an unknown meaning, or it could come from the word raumr which means "roaring waterfall".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 November 1983. The official blazon is "Azure, three piles issuant from base argent" (I blått tre opprette sølv spisser). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three piles pointing upwards from the base of the shield. 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 design was chosen to represent the sky and three local mountains (Vengetindane, Trolltindane and Romsdalshornet). 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 six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Rauma. It is part of the Indre Romsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The municipality surrounds the eastern part of Romsdal Fjord, Isfjorden, and Rødvenfjorden, and it is south of the Langfjorden. It also surrounds the Romsdalen valley and the Rauma River from the mouth to the Innlandet county border.

The Kyrkjetaket and Gjuratinden mountains lie in the northeastern part of the municipality. The mountains Romsdalshornet, Store Trolltind, Trollryggen, Store Venjetinden, and the Troll Wall are all in the central part of the municipality in the Romsdalsalpene mountain range. The mountains Karitinden and Puttegga are located in the southwestern part of the municipality. Part of Reinheimen National Park lies within the municipality.

Transportation
European Route E136, Norwegian County Road 63, and Norwegian County Road 64 all pass through the municipality. The Trollstigen road is part of County Road 63 in Rauma, and it is a famous tourist attraction due to the many hairpin turns on the steep road.

The Rauma railway line also runs through the municipality, over the Kylling Bridge, and terminates at Åndalsnes Station. The nearest airports are Ålesund Airport, Vigra which is 135 km by road from Åndalsnes and Molde Airport which is 55 km by road plus a road ferry.

Government
Rauma 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 Rauma 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 Rauma:

 * 1964-1971: Peder Mork (KrF)
 * 1972-1973: Lars Ramstad (H)
 * 1974-1985: Oddvar Morstøl (KrF)
 * 1986-1987: Knut Hauge
 * 1988-1989: Nils Valde (KrF)
 * 1990-1991: Ole S. Dahle
 * 1992-1993: Nils Valde (KrF)
 * 1994-1999: Torbjørn Ådne Bruaset (Sp)
 * 1999-2011: Torbjørn Rødstøl (Sp)
 * 2011-2019: Lars Olav Hustad (H)
 * 2019–present: Yvonne Wold (SV)

Attractions
Rauma is frequently visited by tourists, especially due to the major sights:
 * Trollveggen in Romsdalen valley
 * Trollstigen road to Geiranger
 * Rødven Stave Church (built around the year 1200)

Notable people

 * Mathias Soggemoen (1847 in Rauma – 1929), a railway worker and mountain climbing pioneer
 * Kirsten Utheim Toverud (1890 in Veblungsnes – 1949), a Norwegian pediatrician
 * Arne Randers Heen (1905 in Hen, Møre og Romsdal – 1991), a Norwegian mountain climber and member of the Norwegian resistance during WWII
 * Nils Bølset (1928 in Veøy – 2015), a Norwegian diplomat in Germany, Turkey, and Australia
 * Oddgeir Bruaset (born 1944 in Rauma), a Norwegian journalist and non-fiction writer
 * Ida Nilsson (born 1981), a Swedish long-distance runner, also competes in ski mountaineering
 * Aksel Berget Skjølsvik (born 1987 in Åndalsnes), a Norwegian former footballer with over 250 club caps
 * Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (born 1991 in Rauma), a Norwegian middle-, long- and steeplechase runner
 * Leo Skiri Østigård (born 1999 in Rauma), a Norwegian professional footballer

title: Rauma, Norway


text:
Nesset

Nesset is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway on the Romsdal Peninsula. The administrative centre was the village of Eidsvåg. Other population centers included Rausand, Boggestranda, Myklebostad, Eresfjord, and Eikesdalen.

Mardalsfossen, one of Norway's tallest waterfalls, a popular tourist attraction during the tourist season, is located in Nesset, along the shores of the lake Eikesdalsvatnet.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 1046 km2 municipality is the 100th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Nesset is the 267th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,946. The municipality's population density is 3 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 3.8% over the last decade.

General information
The parish of Nesset was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1890, all of Nesset south of the Langfjorden was separated to form the new municipality of Eresfjord og Vistdal. This split left Nesset with 1,706 residents. On 1 January 1877, the Sotnakken farm on the Romsdal peninsula (population: 19) was transferred from Nesset to the neighboring Bolsøy municipality. Also on that date, the Tiltereidet and Meisalstranda areas (population: 212) of Tingvoll Municipality, along the west coast of the Tingvollfjorden, were transferred to Nesset Municipality. On 1 January 1890, the Bersås, Nævergjeld, Rausandhaugen, and Rausand area (population: 101) was transferred from Tingvoll Municipality (along the Tingvollfjorden) to Nesset Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Eresfjord og Vistdal Municipality was merged back into Nesset Municipality. Prior to the merger, Nesset had 2,360 residents.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Nesset merged with the neighboring municipalities of Molde and Midsund to form a much larger Molde Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Nesset farm and vicarage (Nøytisætr, spelled "Nødesetter" in 1520) since this is where the old Nesset Church was located. The first element is which means "headland". This is because the old farm is lying on a prominent headland between the Langfjorden and the Tingvollfjorden. The last element is or  which means "seter" or "mountain farm". Prior to 1889, the name was written Næsset.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 10 March 1986 and they were in use until the municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020. The official blazon is "Azure, a pale offset argent, base to dexter" (På blå grunn ein sølv pæl, avskoren og forskuva mot venstre). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a pale that is offset. The pale 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 offset pale symbolizes the two stage drop on one of Europe's highest waterfalls, the Mardalsfossen, which is located in the municipality. The arms were designed by Olav Sandø, from Eidsvåg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Nesset. It was part of the Indre Romsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

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 fell under the Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Nesset was made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Nesset (incomplete list):

 * 1838-1845: Fredrik Christian Møllerop Lied
 * 1851-1853: Jon Helle
 * 1854-1855: Ivar A Nerland
 * 1856-1860: Jon Helle
 * 1861-1876: John Elgenes
 * 1877-1885: Ola Jordfall
 * 1886-1889: Andreas Sølsnes
 * 1891-1892: Ole Andersen Strøm
 * 1892-1896: Ola Jordfall
 * 1896-1908: Knut Eidsør
 * 1908-1917: Ola H. Tjelle
 * 1917-1926: N. Stodheim
 * 1927-1928: Henrik Dahl
 * 1928-1951: Knut Toven (KrF)
 * 1950-1955: Trygve Langset
 * 1956-1959: Audun Toven
 * 1960-1963: Aslak O. Gussiås
 * 1970-1971: Torstein Alstad
 * 1972-1975: Lorentz Tjelle
 * 2003-2007: Kaspar Mittet (Sp)
 * 2007-2019: Rolf Jonas Hurlen (H)

Geography
The municipality was made up mostly of the Eikesdalen valley which surrounds the lake Eikesdalsvatnet. The lake is fed from the lake Aursjøen on the border of Oppland county. The water then flows through the Aura River into the lake Eikesdalsvatnet. That water then flows into the river Eira and then on to the Eresfjorden, a branch of the Langfjorden which itself is a branch off the great Romsdal Fjord. The mountains Skjorta, Fløtatinden, and Gjuratinden surround the main valley.

Birdlife
From the shores of the fjord, to the towering mountains at 1800 m above sea level, the rural community of Nesset offers the visiting birder a range of habitats, and several interesting areas. One area worth checking is Eidsvågleirene. Though the selection of species will not be high, several of the commoner species can be found. The grey heron and mallard are characteristic species in the area.

title: Nesset


text:
Midsund

Midsund is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Romsdal region. The administrative centre was the village of Midsund on Otrøya island. Other settlements on the island included Uglvik and Raknes in the north and Nord-Heggdal in the southeast.

The municipality consisted of many islands. The main islands were Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna, as well as the smaller populated islands of Magerøya and Tautra—both are less than 1 km2. There were also many tiny uninhabited islands and skerries. The islands all sit at the mouth of the great Romsdalsfjord.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 95 km2 municipality is the 384th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Midsund is the 323rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,049. The municipality's population density is 21.8 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 7.8% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Midsund was established on 1 January 1965 when the old municipality of Sør-Aukra (population: 1,912) was merged with part of Midøya island and the neighboring island of Dryna (population: 334) which were part of the old Vatne Municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Midsund (population: 2,049) was merged into the neighboring Molde Municipality, along with the municipality of Nesset (population: 2,946). Together, the new Molde Municipality is significantly larger.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Midsundet (Miðjusund), the strait that flows between the islands of Otrøya and Midøya. The first element is which means "middle" or "centre". The last element is which means "strait" or "sound".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, two triangles argent the lower reversed" (På blå grunn to sølv trekantar, den nedste vend nedover). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is two triangles one over the other so that they look like a mirror image. The triangles have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if the arms are made out of metal, then silver is used. The two triangles represent the islands of Otrøya and Midøya in the ocean. These two main islands in the municipality are separated by a small strait, the Midsund. The geographical situation is symbolised in the arms. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Midsund. It was part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The islands of Midsund Municipality are separated from the mainland by the 2 km wide Julsundet strait to the east and the 3 km wide Midfjorden to the south. To the north are many smaller islands including Gossa (in Aukra Municipality) and Harøya, Sandøya, and Orta (in Sandøy Municipality). To the west lie the islands of Fjørtofta, Skuløya, and Haramsøya (in Haram Municipality).

The three largest islands of the community lie in a line from ENE to WSW (Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna). The island of Magerøya lies between Midøya and Otrøya and a bridge connects it to the latter. Tautra lies in the Moldefjorden, southeast of Otrøya. Otrøya is the main island of the community, measuring about 20 km from east to west. The southern coasts of Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna rise from the fjord as sheer 800 m tall cliffs. At Oppstad, the cliff is feared to collapse, which would cause a small tsunami in the Moldefjorden.

On the southern coast of Otrøya the following small villages can be found: (from east to west) Solholmen, Nord-Heggdal, Oppstad, Sør-Heggdal, and Klauset. The north has the following villages: (east to west) Ræstad, Rakvåg, Tangen, Raknes, and Uglvik. On the western side of Otrøya, facing the bay that separates it from Midøya, lies the village of Midsund, the largest settlement in the community. The Midsund Bridge connects it with Midøya. Dryna and Midøya are also connected with a bridge. Ferries run between the islands and the mainland. There is a ferry from Solholmen across the Julsundet to Molde Municipality and from the island of Dryna to the village of Brattvåg (in Haram Municipality). The larger three islands' interior is wilderness, but the rims are used for keeping cattle and small farming.

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 fell under the Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Midsund is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Midsund:

 * 1965–1969: Knut K. Sjøvik (Sp)
 * 1970–1971: Kåre Straume (Ap)
 * 1972–1983: Kristofer Reiten (Sp)
 * 1984–1989: Harry Edvardsen (H)
 * 1990–1991: Per Håvard Klauset (Sp)
 * 1992–1995: Harry Edvardsen (H)
 * 1995–2003: Ketil Ugelvik (LL)
 * 2003–2011: Helge Orten (H)
 * 2011–2015: Einar Øien (FrP)
 * 2015–2019: Odd Helge Gangstad (Sp)

Demographics
The municipality had 1,939 inhabitants (in January 2005), with 50.3% of the population being male. The percentage of people older than 67 was 18.3%; the unemployment rate was 2.3%, and the population growth was stable. Most inhabitants were fishers or small farmers.

Media
The newspaper Øyavis was published in Midsund from 1983 to 2016.

title: Midsund


text:
Sandøy

Sandøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Romsdal region. The administrative centre was the village of Steinshamn. Other villages included Ona and Myklebost. The municipality was spread out over many islands in the mouth of the vast Romsdal Fjord. The Flatflesa Lighthouse and Ona Lighthouse protect the boats traveling around the municipality. The Nordøy Fixed Link project was constructed from 2018 until 2023 and it includes three undersea tunnels and several bridges that will connect the main islands of Sandøy Municipality and the islands of Haram Municipality to the mainland.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 21 km2 municipality is the 416th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Sandøy is the 371st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,263. The municipality's population density is 59.1 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 1.4% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Sandø i Romsdal was established on 1 January 1867 when it was separated from Akerø Municipality. The initial population was 601. The spelling of the name was later changed to Sandøy. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the Myklebost area on Harøya island and some smaller islands to the west (population: 287) were transferred from Haram Municipality to Sandøy Municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Sandøy was dissolved. The islands of Orta and Lyngværet (and the small surrounding islands) were merged into Aukra Municipality. The remainder of the old Sandøy Municipality was merged with Haram Municipality, Ørskog Municipality, Skodje Municipality, and Ålesund Municipality to form one large municipality of Ålesund.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the farm and small island of Sandøya (Sandøy) since the first Sandøy Church was built there. The first element comes from the word which means "sand". The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Sandøen or Sandø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Sandøy.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 12 December 1986 and they were in use until the municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020. The official blazon is "Azure, three piles conjoined in dexter argent" (I blått tre sølv spissar som møtest i høgre skjoldrand). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a three triangles conjoined at a point along the left side. 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 design is meant to mimic the light beams from the Ona Lighthouse. This was chosen since lighthouses play an important role in the safety in the municipality, which consists of 871 islands and skerries. The arms were designed by Astor Furseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Sandøy. It was part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
Sandøy was an island municipality. Sandøy consisted of 871 islands, but only five were regularly inhabited by the time the municipality was dissolved. The main inhabited islands were Harøya, Sandøya, Finnøya, Ona, and Orta. Ona is the most famous of the islands and is a popular tourist destination due to its history and the Ona Lighthouse.

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 fell under the Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sandøy is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Sandøy:

 * 1867–1871: Paul Knudsen Gaasø
 * 1871–1872: Lars Olsson Sandøy
 * 1872–1876: Rasmus Pedersson Huse
 * 1876–1877: Gunnar Olsson Sandøy
 * 1877–1879: Jonas Knutsson Sandøy
 * 1880–1885: Thor Elias Pedersson Huse
 * 1886–1887: Knut Paulsson Gåsøy
 * 1888–1891: Thor Elias Pedersson Huse
 * 1892–1901: Knut Nilsson Finnøy
 * 1901–1904: Bernt E. Brunvoll
 * 1904–1910: Peder P. Orten
 * 1910–1922: Paul I. Huse
 * 1922–1925: Elias E. Marøy (V)
 * 1925–1928: Peder P. Orten
 * 1928–1934: Paul J. Sandøy
 * 1934–1941: Elias E. Marøy (V)
 * 1941–1943: Nils N. Finnøy
 * 1943–1944: Ole P. Husøy
 * 1945–1945: Elias E. Marøy (V)
 * 1946–1955: Nils K. Finnøy
 * 1956–1964: Olav Skotheim (LL)
 * 1965–1967: Johan P. Sandøy (LL)
 * 1968–1971: Johan P. Sandøy (LL)
 * 1972–1975: Johan P. Sandøy (Sp)
 * 1976–1979: Tor Huse (LL)
 * 1980–1987: Idar Grøtta (Sp)
 * 1988–1991: Paul Edmund Steinshamn (DLF/V)
 * 1991-1995: Runar Myklebust (H)
 * 1995–1999: Oddvar Myklebust (Ap)
 * 1999–2007: Nils Magne Abelseth (H)
 * 2007–2011: Oddvar Myklebust (Ap)
 * 2011–2015: Hans Endre Sæterøy (H)
 * 2015-2019: Oddvar Myklebust (Ap)

title: Sandøy


text:
Aukra

Aukra is municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Falkhytta, which is part of the Aukrasanden urban area.

The municipality is made up of the island of Gossa as well as many small surrounding islands, plus a small area around the village of Hollingen across the Julsundet strait on the mainland Romsdal peninsula. Some of the main population centers include the villages of Hollingen, Aukrasanden, Varhaugvika, and Røssøyvågen. Nyhamna is a major industrial area in Aukra.

The 61 km2 municipality is the 345th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Aukra is the 211th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,654. The municipality's population density is 60.3 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 9.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Akerø was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1840, most of Akerø on the Romsdal peninsula was separated to form the municipality of Frænen. On 1 January 1867, the islands that are located to the west of Gossa (population: 601) were separated to become the new Sandøy Municipality. On 1 January 1924, the southern part of the municipality (Otrøya and several other islands) were separated to form the new municipality of Sør-Aukra, and the remainder of the municipality was renamed Nord-Aukra.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Mordal area of Nord-Aukra (population: 77) was transferred to Molde Municipality. On 1 January 1965, Nord- was dropped from the name of the municipality, so it was then just called Aukra.

On 1 January 2020, the uninhabited islands of Lyngværet and the island of Orta (population: 11) were transferred from Sandøy Municipality to Aukra.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Aukra farm (Aukrin) since the first Aukra Church was built there. The first element is which means "field" or "acre". The last element is which means "field" or "acre". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Agerø or Akerø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Aukra.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 22 May 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, two bracelets Or" (På blå grunn to gull ringar, 1-1). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is two Bronze Age bracelets. 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 bracelets are based on an archaeological finding of two bracelets in Aukra in 1936. The rings date back to the year 1000 BC, during the Bronze Age. There are no other such pairs found in Norway and only one somewhat similar in southern Sweden. The rings are 8 cm in diameter and each one is made of 65 g of gold. The rings thus symbolize the long tradition of habitation in the area. The fact that there are two, also symbolizes one for the island part of the municipality and the other for the mainland part. The blue and gold colors symbolize the sunset over the ocean. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth who based it off an idea by Knut Rød. 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 Aukra. It is part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

History
Aukra is the site of a shipwreck and rescue operation, when the cargo ship SS Rokta on 4 April 1938. The monument of Rokta is situated on Rindarøy island with a view of Galleskjæra where the Rokta sank.

Government
Aukra 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 Aukra is made up of 21 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 Aukra (incomplete list):

 * 1945–1947: Ivar Kornelius Eikrem (Ap)
 * 1992-1999: Andreas Horrem (Sp)
 * 1999-2007: Aud Mork (KrF)
 * 2007-2019: Bernhard Riksfjord (Ap)
 * 2019–2023: Odd Jørgen Nilssen (H)
 * 2023-present: Helge Kjøll (KrF)

Economy
The Nyhamna industrial area on the northeastern part of the island of Gossa in Aukra is the location from where the Langeled pipeline, transporting natural gas from the enormous Ormen Lange gas field to the United Kingdom, came onstream in 2007.

Aukra Auto runs the bus service on the island of Gossa.

Notable people

 * Jonas Danilssønn Ramus (1649 in Aukra - 1718), a Norwegian priest, author, and historian
 * Anton Beinset (1894 in Aukra – 1963), a journalist, newspaper editor, short story writer, crime fiction writer, and politician
 * Iver Horrem (born 1977 in Aukra), a Norwegian professional beach volleyball player
 * Emilie Nautnes (born 1999 in Aukra), a footballer who plays for the Norway women's national football team

title: Aukra


text:
Fræna

Fræna is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the region of Romsdal. The municipality was located on the Romsdal peninsula surrounding the Frænfjorden, the eastern shore of the Julsundet strait, and includes most of the Hustadvika area. It also included the now-abandoned Bjørnsund islands.

The main village and administrative centre in Fræna was Elnesvågen with over 2,300 inhabitants. Moxy Engineering, Hustad Marmor, and Tine Meierier are all factories located in Elnesvågen. Other villages in Fræna included Hustad, Bud, Tornes, Sylte, Malme, and Aureosen. The area is nice for hiking, including the mountains are Heiane/Lågheiane and Jendemsfjellet.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 370 km2 municipality is the 250th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fræna is the 115th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,775. The municipality's population density is 27 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 6.4% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Fræna was established in 1840 when it was separated from the municipality of Akerø. The original municipality was named Vaagø and it surrounded the Frænfjorden. Later the name was changed to Fræna.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Bud Municipality (population: 1,610), Hustad Municipality (population: 2,196), and Fræna Municipality (population: 3,430) were merged to form a new, larger municipality of Fræna.

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Eide and Fræna merged into the new Hustadvika Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was first named Vaagø, after the old Vaagøen farm (Vágøy) since the first Vågøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "bay" or "sea". The last element is which means "island". The municipality had this name from 1838 until 1865. In 1865, the municipal name was changed to Frænen, after the Frænfjorden (Fræni). The meaning of the fjord name is unknown, but it may have been derived from the word frænn which means "bright" or "shiny". Another option was that it comes from the word frenje which means "foam" or "howl", referring to the local fjord in high winds. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality from Frænen to Fræna.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 1995 and it was in use until 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Or, three bars wavy azure crested to the dexter on the upper edge" (På gull botn tre blå bjelkar der overkantane er teikna med kvervelsnitt). 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 three horizontal bars designed too look like ocean surface waves. The arms were chosen to symbolize the municipality's connection to the sea. There are three bars to represent the three former municipalities which made up Fræna: Fræna, Bud, and Hustad. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Fræna. It is part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The municipality of Fræna was located on the northwestern end of the Romsdal Peninsula. The Norwegian Sea was to the north; the Harøyfjorden, Julsundet strait, and Aukra Municipality were to the west; Molde Municipality was to the south; and Gjemnes Municipality and Eide Municipality were to the east.

The Frænfjorden cut into the middle of the municipality. The coastal areas were low and marshy while the interior of the municipality was mountainous. Two of the more notable mountains in Fræna were Jendemsfjellet and Heiane. The Bjørnsund islands were located off the northwestern coast of Fræna. They are now uninhabited, but the Bjørnsund Lighthouse is still in operation.

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.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Fræna was made up of 31 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Fræna (incomplete list):
 * 1999-2003: Ragnar Valle (Sp)
 * 2003-2007: Arve Hans Otterlei (FrP)
 * 2007-2011: Kjell Lode (KrF)
 * 2011-2015: Nils Johan Gjendem (FrP)
 * 2015-2019: Tove Henøen (Sp)

title: Fræna


text:
Eide

Eide is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the region of Nordmøre. It was located on the Romsdal peninsula, along the Kornstadfjorden and the Kvernesfjorden. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Eide. Other villages included Lyngstad, Vevang, and Visnes.

The municipality was known for its traditional and modern limestone (marble) quarries and related crafts industry. The Atlanterhavsveien coastal road connected Eide Municipality to neighboring Averøy Municipality to the east. The municipal border lies at the Storseisundet Bridge on the Atlanterhavsveien road.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 152 km2 municipality is the 353rd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Eide is the 248th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,440. The municipality's population density is 23.6 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 2.3% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Eide was established on 1 January 1897 when the large Kvernes Municipality was divided into four municipalities: Eide (population: 1,552), Kornstad (population: 1,599), Bremsnes (population: 2,917), and Kvernes (population: 857). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Vevang area (population: 562) was transferred from Kornstad Municipality to Eide Municipality. On 1 January 1983, the uninhabited island of Eldhusøya (now part of the Atlanterhavsveien) was transferred from Eide to Averøy Municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Eide and Fræna merged into the new municipality of Hustadvika.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Eide farm (Eið) since the first Eide Church was built there. The name comes from the dative case of the word which means "isthmus". This name is not referring to a true isthmus, but rather referring to a small valley area between two large hills and between the fjord and a large lake where the main village of Eide is located.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 9 July 1982. The official blazon is "Azure, three swans argent naiant wings displayed, 2 over 1" (I blått tre svømmende sølv svaner, to over en). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus). The swans have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if the arms are made out of metal, then silver is used. The swans are facing dexter in a swimming position. The swans were chosen since they are very common in the many local lakes. Each swan has seven feathers, representing the seven main villages in the municipality. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Eide. It was part of the Ytre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The municipality is located on the northern part of the Romsdal Peninsula, just west of the island of Averøya. Kvitholmen Lighthouse lies just off the northern coast of the municipality, in an area with hundreds of small islands and skerries. Fræna Municipality lies to the west of Eide, Gjemnes Municipality lies to the southeast, and Averøy Municipality lies to the east. The open Norwegian Sea lies to the north.

Government
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.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Eide was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Eide:

 * 1897-1898: O.M. Sildnes
 * 1899-1910: Ole P. Silseth
 * 1911-1919: Aslak Øyen
 * 1920-1925: Aslak J. Halås
 * 1926-1937: Edvard Brandshaug
 * 1938-1939: Birger Bergem
 * 1940-1951: Iver Dyrhaug
 * 1952-1953: Trygve E. Eide (V)
 * 1953-1960: Harald Øyen (H)
 * 1961-1975: Trygve Sildnes (Sp)
 * 1975-1975: Ole Herskedal (KrF)
 * 1976-1980: Johannes J. Vaag (Sp)
 * 1980-1981: Knut K. Strand (KrF)
 * 1982-1983: Paul Husøy (Ap)
 * 1984-1985: Ola Krogstad (Sp)
 * 1986-1995: Jon Skarvøy (Ap)
 * 1995-2003: Oddbjørn Silseth (H)
 * 2003-2011: Arnfinn Storvik (H)
 * 2011–2015: Ove Silseth (H)
 * 2015-2019: Egil Karstein Strand (H)

title: Eide


text:
Averøy

Averøy is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Nordmøre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruhagen. Other villages in the municipality include Bremsnes, Kornstad, Kvernes, Kårvåg, Langøy, Sveggen, and Vebenstad.

The municipality includes the main island of Averøya and the many small islands surrounding it. The Kornstadfjorden, Kvernesfjorden, and Bremsnesfjorden surround the municipality on three sides and the open ocean on the fourth side. The Hestskjær Lighthouse and Stavnes Lighthouse are located in the northern part of the municipality.

The 176 km2 municipality is the 312th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Averøy is the 164th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,872. The municipality's population density is 34 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 3.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Averøy was established on 1 January 1964 when the former municipality of Kvernes and most of the municipalities of Kornstad and Bremsnes were merged into one large municipality. On 1 January 1983, the small island of Eldhusøya (and the small surrounding islands) was transferred from Eide Municipality to Averøy Municipality.

Name
The municipality is named after the island of Averøya (or Averøy) (Afrey) since it is the main island in the municipality. The first element is unknown, but it could possibly come from afr which means "great" or "big". The last element comes from the word which means "island".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Gules, three downwards-pointing arrowheads Or" (I rødt tre nedvendte gull pilspisser). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three downwards-pointing arrowheads. 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 arrowheads refer to actual Stone Age arrowheads, made of slate, which have been found in the municipality. The arrowheads thus symbolize the long time that the area has been inhabited. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth after an idea by Kristoffer Gjøten. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

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

History
The municipality of Averøy has many historic landmarks, like the Bremsnes cave with Mesolithic findings from the Fosna culture. Langøysund, now a remote fishing community, was once a bustling port along the main coastal route, and the site of the Compromise of 1040 between King Magnus I and the farmers along the coast. Also, the Medieval Kvernes Stave Church (built around 1300–1350).

Government
Averøy 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 Averøy is made up of 23 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 Averøy:

 * 1964–1967: Magnar Kjønnøy (KrF)
 * 1968–1970: Bjarne Strand (V)
 * 1970–1971: Arne Avset (Sp)
 * 1972–1973: Jon T. Søbstad (DNF)
 * 1974–1978: Ole Kaarvaag (Sp)
 * 1978–1979: Torger Hafskjær (KrF)
 * 1980–1983: Jarle Haga (V)
 * 1984–1985: Eilif Aae (Sp)
 * 1986–1997: Leif Helge Kongshaug (V)
 * 1997–2003: John Harry Kvalshaug (Sp)
 * 2003–2007: Kjell Magne Sandø (Ap)
 * 2007–2011: Jarle Haga (V)
 * 2011–2015: Ann-Kristin Sørvik (Sp)
 * 2015–present: Ingrid Ovidie Rangønes (Ap)

Transportation
The tourist attraction Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road) connects the island and municipality of Averøy to the neighboring Hustadvika Municipality, which is on the mainland to the west. The Storseisundet Bridge crosses the municipal boundary. In 2005, it was awarded the "Building of the Century" prize by the Norwegian Construction Industry. On the other side of the island near the village of Sveggen, Averøy is connected to Kristiansund Municipality via the undersea tunnel. This tunnel, known as Atlanterhavstunnelen (Atlantic Tunnel), was completed in December 2009, replacing the ferry from Bremsnes on Averøya to the city of Kristiansund.

Notable people

 * Erling Kristvik (1882 in Kornstad – 1969) a Norwegian educationalist
 * Aud Inger Aure (born 1942 in Averøy) a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Kristiansund
 * Gunnar Kjønnøy (born 1947 in Averøy) an economist and County Governor of Finnmark, 1998 to 2016
 * Leif Helge Kongshaug (born 1949 in Averøy) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Averøy, 1986 to 1997
 * Magne Hoseth (born 1980 in Averøy) a coach and former footballer with 423 club caps and 22 for Norway

title: Averøy


text:
Frei

Frei is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The 65 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2008 when it was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. It was located between the Kvernesfjorden and Freifjorden, primarily including the island of Frei and the smaller surrounding islands.

The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Rensvik, the largest village on the island, located on the northern end of the island. Other main villages that were in Frei Municipality include the village of Nedre Frei, located on the southern end of the island and the village of Kvalvåg, located on the eastern side of the island. The main church for the municipality was Frei Church, located in the village of Nedre Frei.

History
The municipality of Fredø was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1882, a small part of Fredø (population: 40) was merged into the neighboring Øre Municipality to the south. On 1 September 1893, an area of Frei (population: 231) was merged into the new Gjemnes Municipality. In 1897, the Grip archipelago (population: 198) was separated from Frei to form the new Grip Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the northern part of the island of Frei (population: 884) was transferred from Bremsnes Municipality to Frei Municipality. Also on the same date, the part of Frei on the island of Aspøya (population: 147) was transferred to the neighboring Tingvoll Municipality. On 1 January 2008, Frei Municipality ceased to exist when it was merged into the neighboring Kristiansund Municipality to the north.

Name
The municipality is named after the island of Frei (Freiðr). The name's original meaning is unknown, but it may be derived from which means "lovely", "beautiful", or "fair". Prior to 1889, the name was spelled Fredø.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 6 February 1987 and it was in use until 2008 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Gules, two crowns Or in pale" (I rødt to gull kroner, 1-1). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a two gold crowns. The crowns have a tincture of Or which means they are commonly colored yellow, but if the shield is made out of metal, then gold is used. The two crowns symbolize the relationship between Frei and two Norwegian Kings: King Haakon the Good had a hunting lodge in Bjerkestrand in Frei in the 10th century, and the King and the villagers took part on the Battle of Rastarkalv in the municipality in the year 955. King Haakon VII visited the village in 1955 at the 1000th anniversary of the battle. The arms were designed by the local architect and painter Nils Fiske. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Frei. It was part of the Ytre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

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.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Frei was made up of 23 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Frei:

 * 1838–1841: Einer Eriksen Aspen
 * 1842–1843: Robert Williamsen
 * 1844–1847: Ole Aslaksen Sandnes
 * 1848–1851: Einer Eriksen Aspen
 * 1852–1855: Nils Frei
 * 1856–1856: Johan Ryther
 * 1857–1857: Nils Frei
 * 1858–1859: Ole Nilsen
 * 1860–1872: Jacob Messel Williamsen
 * 1873–1875: Eisten H. Storvik
 * 1876–1877: Johannes Bugge
 * 1878–1883: Eisten H. Storvik
 * 1884–1885: Erik Jordal
 * 1886–1897: Nils Williamsen (H)
 * 1898–1907: Eystein Andreas Nilssen (V)
 * 1908–1913: Didrik Frei (V)
 * 1914–1916: Nils Williamsen (H)
 * 1917–1919: Didrik Frei (V)
 * 1920–1922: Jacob Messel Williamsen
 * 1923–1931: Anders Grimstad
 * 1932–1934: Jacob Messel Williamsen
 * 1935–1937: Nils Bjerkestrand
 * 1938–1941: Eisten O. Bjerkestrand
 * 1942–1944: Peder E. Husby
 * 1944–1945: Kristian Williamsen
 * 1945–1945: Eisten O. Bjerkestrand
 * 1946–1947: Nils Bjerkestrand (KrF)
 * 1948–1959: Axel Fiske (KrF)
 * 1959–1959: Lars Grimstad (LL)
 * 1960–1967: Harald Bergem (KrF)
 * 1968–1969: Jakob Knutsen (Ap)
 * 1970–1971: Edvin Kvalvik (Ap)
 * 1972–1975: Arne Lillevik (V)
 * 1976–1979: Torbjørn Nyland
 * 1980–1981: Arne Lillevik (V)
 * 1982–1983: Erling Bjerkestrand (KrF)
 * 1984–1991: Tord M. Kvalvåg (Ap)
 * 1992–1999: Anders O. Bergem (LL)
 * 1999–2007: Maritta B. Ohrstrand (Sp)

title: Frei


text:
Gjemnes

Gjemnes is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway on the Romsdal peninsula. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Batnfjordsøra, which lies along the Batnfjorden and it is a former steamship landing place. Other villages in Gjemnes include Torvikbukt, Flemma, Angvika, Gjemnes, Øre, and Osmarka.

The 382 km2 municipality is the 243rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gjemnes is the 243rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,669. The municipality's population density is 7.2 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 4.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Gjemnes was established on 1 September 1893 when the southern part of Kvernes Municipality (population: 477), the northern part of Øre Municipality (population: 226), and the southwestern part of Frei Municipality (population: 231) were merged. The initial population of the municipality was 934. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Øre Municipality (population: 1,565) and all of Tingvoll Municipality located west of the Tingvollfjorden (population: 778) were merged with Gjemnes Municipality (population: 697) to form a new, larger municipality of Gjemnes.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Gjemnes farm (Gímnes) since it was the site of Gjemnes Church. The first element is somewhat uncertain. It may come from an old river name (Gíma). The river name may be derived from the word gíma which means "opening" or "mouth". The last element is which means "headland".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 November 1983. The official blazon is "Vert, a deer head cabossed Or" (I grønt et gull hjortehode, sett forfra). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is the head and antlers of a red deer. 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 green color in the field symbolizes the importance of the agricultural history of the community. The deer head was chosen since these deer are quite common in the municipality. The deer antlers have twelve points on them, representing the twelve districts of Gjemnes. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth who based it off an original idea by Birger A. Eikrem. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

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

Geography
The municipality lies along the Kvernesfjorden, Batnfjorden, Freifjorden, and Tingvollfjorden. The mountain Reinsfjellet (highest in the municipality) lies near Torvikbukt. The municipality also includes the island of Bergsøya which is located at the junction of the fjords near the village of Gjemnes.

Gjemnes is surrounded by Kristiansund Municipality and Averøy Municipality to the north; Eide, Fræna, and Molde municipalities to the west; Nesset Municipality to the south; and Tingvoll Municipality to the east.

Government
Gjemnes 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 Gjemnes 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 Gjemnes (incomplete list):

 * 1898-1910: Kristoffer Høgset (V)
 * 1913-1922: Kristoffer Høgset (Bp)
 * 1972-1991: Ole Øverland (Sp)
 * 1999-2007: Odd Steinar Bjerkeset (KrF)
 * 2007-2011: Knut Sjømæling (Sp)
 * 2011-2015: Odd Steinar Bjerkeset (KrF)
 * 2015–present: Knut Sjømæling (Sp)

Transport
European Route E39 runs through the municipality and over the Gjemnessund Bridge and Bergsøysund Bridge connecting Gjemnes to Tingvoll Municipality. The Freifjord Tunnel (part of Norwegian National Road 70) runs from Bergsøya to the nearby island of Frei (and ultimately Kristiansund).

Notable people

 * John Neergaard (1795–1885) a Norwegian farmer and bailiff (lensmann) in Gjemnes 1836 to 1854
 * Anton Berge (1892 in Gjemnes – 1951) a Norwegian agronomist and local politician

title: Gjemnes


text:
Jacobus Kapteyn

Prof Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn FRS FRSE LLD (19 January 1851 – 18 June 1922) was a Dutch astronomer. He carried out extensive studies of the Milky Way. He found that the apparent movement of stars was not randomly distributed but had two preferential directions: the two star streams. This discovery was later reinterpreted as evidence for galactic rotation. Kapteyn also suggested that these stellar velocities could be used to find the amount of non-luminous matter in the galaxy.

Biography
Kapteyn was born in Barneveld to Gerrit J. and Elisabeth C. (née Koomans) Kapteyn, and went to the University of Utrecht to study mathematics and physics in 1868. In 1875, after having finished his thesis, he worked for three years at the Leiden Observatory, before becoming the first Professor of Astronomy and Theoretical Mechanics at the University of Groningen, where he remained until his retirement in 1921. In 1888 he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Between 1896 and 1900, lacking an observatory, he volunteered to measure photographic plates taken by David Gill, who was conducting a photographic survey of southern hemisphere stars at the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope. The results of this collaboration was the publication of Cape Photographic Durchmusterung, a catalog listing positions and magnitudes for 454,875 stars in the Southern Hemisphere.

In 1897, as part of the above work, he discovered Kapteyn's Star. It had the highest proper motion of any star known until the discovery of Barnard's Star in 1916.

In 1904, studying the proper motions of stars, Kapteyn reported that these were not random, as it was believed in that time; stars could be divided into two streams, moving in nearly opposite directions. It was later realized that Kapteyn's data had been the first evidence of the rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy, which ultimately led to the finding of galactic rotation by Bertil Lindblad and Jan Oort.

In 1906, Kapteyn launched a plan for a major study of the distribution of stars in the Galaxy, using counts of stars in different directions. The plan involved measuring the apparent magnitude, spectral type, radial velocity, and proper motion of stars in 206 zones. This enormous project was the first coordinated statistical analysis in astronomy and involved the cooperation of over forty different observatories.

He was awarded the James Craig Watson Medal in 1913. Kapteyn later retired in 1921 at the age of seventy, but on the request of his former student and director of Leiden Observatory Willem de Sitter, Kapteyn went back to Leiden to assist in upgrading the observatory to contemporary astronomical standards.

His life's work, First attempt at a theory of the arrangement and motion of the sidereal system, was published in 1922, and described a lens-shaped island universe of which the density decreased away from the center, now known as the Kapteyn Universe. In his model the Galaxy was thought to be 40,000 light years in size, the Sun being relatively close (2,000 light years) to its center. The model was valid at high galactic latitudes but failed in the galactic plane because of the lack of knowledge of interstellar absorption.

It was only after Kapteyn's death, in Amsterdam, that Robert Trumpler determined that the amount of interstellar reddening was actually much greater than had been assumed. This discovery increased the estimate of the galaxy's size to 100,000 light years, with the Sun replaced to a distance of 30,000 light years from the Galactic Center.

The astronomy institute of the University of Groningen is named after Kapteyn. A street in the city of Groningen is also named after Kapteyn: the J.C. Kapteynlaan. And the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes on La Palma in the Canary Islands named the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope (JKT) after him.

His daughter Henrietta (1881-1956) married astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung.

Honours
Awards
 * Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1902)
 * James Craig Watson Medal (1913)
 * Bruce Medal (1913)

Named after him
 * Kapteyn (crater) on the Moon
 * Asteroid 818 Kapteynia
 * Kapteyn's Star
 * Kapteyn Astronomical Institute at the University of Groningen
 * Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope (JKT) at La Palma, one of the Canary islands
 * Kapteyn Package, Astronomical package for Python

title: Jacobus Kapteyn


text:
Tingvoll

Tingvoll is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Tingvollvågen. Other villages include Meisingset, Kvisvik, and Torjulvågen. The municipality covers a peninsula on the mainland as well as a few surrounding islands. Norwegian National Road 70 and European route E39 both run through the municipality.

The 337 km2 municipality is the 253rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tingvoll is the 225th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,031. The municipality's population density is 9.4 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 2.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The parish of Tingvoll was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1866, the northern part of the municipality (population: 1,222) was separated to form the new Straumsnes Municipality. On 1 January 1874, a part of Stangvik Municipality (population: 61) was transferred to Tingvoll. On 1 January 1877, the Tiltereidet and Meisalstranden part of Tingvoll (population: 212) on the west side of the Sunndalsfjorden was transferred to Nesset Municipality. On 1 January 1880, the Torjulvågen area of Halsa Municipality (population: 240) was transferred to Tingvoll. On 1 January 1890, the Rausand area of Tingvoll (population: 101) was transferred to Nesset Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Straumsnes (population: 1,160) and the part of Frei Municipality on the island of Aspøya (population: 147) were merged into Tingvoll. On 1 January 1965, the part of Tingvoll located on the western side of the Tingvollfjorden (population: 778) was transferred to Gjemnes Municipality and the Åsprong-Sandnes area near Meisingset (population: 26) was transferred from Stangvik Municipality to Tingvoll.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Tingvoll farm (Þingvǫllr) since the first Tingvoll Church was built there. The first element is which means "thing" or "assembly". The last element is which means "meadow" or "flat ground" (so Tingvoll means "meeting place", like Þingvellir in Iceland). Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Tingvold. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Tingvoll.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 September 1984. The official blazon is "Argent, five oak leaves vert in annulo stems to centre" (I sølv fem grønne eikeblad i rosett). This means the arms have a field (background) 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 charge is a group of five oak leaves arranged in a circle with their stems pointing to the centre. The oak leaves were chosen as a symbol since Norway's northernmost autochthonous oak forests can be found in the municipality. Each leaf represents one of the five main villages in the municipality: Tingvollvågen, Straumsnes, Gyl, Torjulvågen, and Meisingset. The arms were designed by Alvhild Ulseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

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

History
Eight or nine centuries ago, Tingvoll was the site of the Nordmøre Ting. There was a flat field there, which in Norwegian is called voll. It was here that meetings were held, called ting, thus the name Tingvoll. The name has the same origin as the Scottish town of Dingwall, the parliament of the Isle of Man Tynwald, the English town of Thingwall (which Norwegian Vikings colonised ), Wirral Peninsula, and Þingvellir in Iceland.

Tingvoll Church, also known as the Nordmøre Cathedral (Nordmørsdomen), was built around 1180 at the village of Tingvollvågen.

Government
Tingvoll 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 Tingvoll is made up of 21 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 Tingvoll:

 * 1838-1839: Anders Larsen
 * 1840-1843: Fanejunker Bjerkhol
 * 1844-1847: J. Bugge
 * 1848-1851: P. Hofflund
 * 1852-1854: A. Bjerkhol
 * 1854-1855: Peder I. Kjærivik
 * 1856-1856: Karlsen
 * 1856-1857: Markus Sæthem
 * 1858-1861: H. Brodkorp
 * 1862-1863: Markus Sæthem
 * 1864-1873: Anders Koksvik
 * 1874-1877: John Sæther
 * 1878-1879: Lars A. Koksvik
 * 1880-1883: Lars Solli
 * 1884-1887: L. Nilsen
 * 1888-1895: Hans Meisingset
 * 1896-1897: Lars Meisingset
 * 1898-1898: Lars Koksvik
 * 1899-1904: Lars Meisingset
 * 1905-1922: Lars Gjøvik
 * 1923-1925: A.L. Koksvik
 * 1926-1928: Lars Gjøvik
 * 1929-1934: O.K Varvik
 * 1935-1937: Magnus Skeid
 * 1938-1940: O.H. Drøpping
 * 1941-1943: Petter Grinde
 * 1943-1945: Kristian Kindsbekken
 * 1945-1945: O.H. Drøpping
 * 1946-1951: Magnus Skeid
 * 1952-1955: L.B. Flemmen
 * 1956-1959: Steinar Stomsvik
 * 1960-1963: John Th. Angvik
 * 1964–1965: Steinar Stomsvik
 * 1966–1967: Sverke Romundstad
 * 1968–1969: Oddmund Tveikra
 * 1970–1971: Jon Resell
 * 1972–1975: Sverke Romundstad
 * 1976–1979: Per Kamsvåg
 * 1980–1983: Ivar Bølset
 * 1984–1987: Rasmus Sørheim
 * 1988–1995: Einar Lund
 * 1996–1999: Lars Jostein Holten
 * 1999-2007: Kristin Sørheim
 * 2007–2011: Ole Morten Sørvik (H)
 * 2011–2015: Peder Hanem Aasprang (Sp)
 * 2015–2019: Milly Bente Nørsett (Ap)
 * 2019–present: Ingrid Waagen (Sp)

Geography
Tingvoll Municipality is a peninsula surrounded by the Tingvollfjorden, Vinjefjorden, Freifjorden, Halsafjorden, and Trongfjorden. The municipality also includes some islands including Aspøya. The Bergsøysund Bridge (part of the European route E39 highway) connects Aspøya to the neighboring island of Bergsøya to the west.

Climate
Tingvoll has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification), also known as a marine west coast climate. The wettest season is autumn and early winter. The driest season is spring. The average daily high temperature varies from about 3 °C in January and February to 19 °C in July. The all-time high is 32.9 °C recorded 9 July 2014. In February 2001 a low of -18 °C was recorded. Earlier weather stations have recorded colder lows. The Tingvoll weather station started recording January 1992.

Eco-municipality
Tingvoll has been a self declared eco-municipality since 1990, when the municipal council (Kommunestyre) signed the declaration. The movement of eco-municipalities started among rural municipalities in Finland and later in Sweden in the 1980s. The idea was to inspire local economic and cultural development within a sustainable framework. In Tingvoll, the work started with a program for environmental education of the members of the council and the executive officers. The schools adapted national programs for environmental education.

A main part of the early years of eco-municipality, was the program for composting waste from the households. A new type of insulated bin was developed (Hagakompen) to assure composting could handle meat and fish waste, and work well in wintertime as well.

The Bioforsk Organic Food and Farming Division is located at Tingvoll.

Notable people

 * Martha G. Thorwick (1863 in Tingvoll — 1921), an American clubwoman and medical doctor based in San Francisco
 * Gunvor Hals (born 1953 in Tingvoll), a Norwegian television personality
 * Nils Erik Ulset (born 1983 in Tingvoll), a Norwegian biathlete, cross-country skier, and three-time Paralympic Champion

Sister cities
Tingvoll has sister city agreements with the following places:
 * 🇹🇿 Bunda Town, Bunda District, Tanzania

title: Tingvoll


text:
Ethical code

Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of business ethics, codes of conduct for employees, and codes of professional practice.

Code of ethics or code of conduct? (Corporate or business ethics)
Many organizations use the phrases ethical code and code of conduct interchangeably, but it may be useful to make a distinction. A code of ethics will start by setting out the values that underpin the code and will describe an organization's obligation to its stakeholders. The code is publicly available and addressed to anyone with an interest in that organization's activities and the way it operates. It will include details of how the organization plans to implement its values and vision, as well as guidance to staff on ethical standards and how to achieve them. However, a code of conduct is generally addressed to and intended for the organization's leaders and staff. It usually sets out restrictions on behavior, and will be far more focused on compliance or rules than on values or principles.

Code of practice (professional ethics)
A code of practice is adopted by a profession (or by a governmental or non-governmental organization) to regulate that profession. A code of practice may be styled as a code of professional responsibility, which will discuss difficult issues and difficult decisions that will often need to be made, and then provide a clear account of what behavior is considered "ethical" or "correct" or "right" in the circumstances. In a membership context, failure to comply with a code of practice can result in expulsion from the professional organization. In its 2007 International Good Practice Guidance, Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for Organizations, the International Federation of Accountants provided the following working definition: "Principles, values, standards, or rules of behavior that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders, and (b) respects the rights of all constituents affected by its operations."

Listed below are a few example statements from the professional codes of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ):

 * PRSA Code of Ethics
 * "Loyalty: We are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation to serve the public interest."
 * "Fairness: We deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. We respect all opinions and support the right of free expression."

 * SPJ Code of Ethics
 * "Minimize Harm … Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness. … Balance a suspect’s right to a fair trial with the public’s right to know. Consider the implications of identifying criminal suspects before they face legal charges. …"
 * "Act Independently … Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts."

General notes
Ethical codes are often adopted by management and also employers, not to promote a particular moral theory, but rather because they are seen as pragmatic necessities for running an organization in a complex society in which moral concepts play an important part.

They are distinct from moral codes that may apply to the culture, education, and religion of a whole society. It is debated whether the politicians should apply a code of ethics, or whether it is a profession entirely discretionary, just subject to compliance with the law: however, recently codes of practice have been approved in this field.

Often, acts that violate ethical codes may also violate a law or regulation and can be punishable at law or by government agency remedies.

Even organizations and communities that may be considered criminal in nature may have ethical codes of conduct, official or unofficial.

Codes seek to define and delineate the difference between conduct and behavior that is malum in se, malum prohibitum, and good practice. Sometimes ethical codes include sections that are meant to give firm rules, but some offer general guidance, and sometimes the words are merely aspirational.

In sum, a code of ethics is an attempt to codify "good and bad behavior".

Examples

 * Medical workers and physicians
 * Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief
 * Declaration of Geneva
 * Hippocratic Oath
 * Percival's Medical Ethics
 * Madrid Declaration on Ethical Standards for Psychiatric Practice

 * Military, warfare, and other armed conflict
 * Bushidō (Japanese samurai)
 * Chivalry
 * Code of the U.S. Fighting Force
 * International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation ("ICOC" or "Hague Code of Conduct")
 * Israel Defense Forces Code of Conduct
 * Pirate code
 * Uniform Code of Military Justice (United States)
 * Warrior code

 * Religious
 * Code of Ma'at (Ancient Egypt)
 * Eight Precepts (Buddhism)
 * Five Precepts (Buddhism)
 * Golden Rule / Ethic of reciprocity (various)
 * Seven Laws of Noah (Judaism)
 * Patimokkha (Buddhism)
 * Quran (Islam)
 * Rule of St. Benedict (Christian monasticism)
 * Ten Commandments (Abrahamic religions)
 * Ten Precepts (Buddhism)
 * Ten Precepts (Taoism)
 * Yamas and niyama (Hindu scriptures)

 * Others
 * American Library Association Code of Ethics
 * Applied ethics
 * Media ethics
 * Aviators Model Code of Conduct
 * Global civics
 * ICC Cricket Code of Conduct
 * Institute of Internal Auditors, Code of Ethics
 * Journalist's Creed
 * Moral Code of the Builder of Communism

title: Ethical code