Hjørundfjord

Hjørundfjord is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The 277 km2 municipality is now a part of the municipality of Ørsta. The administrative centre was the village of Sæbø, located on the shores of the Hjørundfjorden. The municipality encircled both sides of the Hjørundfjorden as well as the Bondalen valley. The villages of Bjørke, Leira, and Store Standal were all a part Hjørundfjord Municipality.

History
The municipality was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was the same as the prestegjeld (parish) of Hjørundfjord. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the three neighboring municipalities of Hjørundfjord (population: 1,728), Vartdal (population: 1,315), and Ørsta (population: 6,209) were merged into one large municipality, under the name Ørsta.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Hjørundfjorden (Hjǫrundarfjǫrdr). The first element is the old name of the fjord, Hjǫrund. This origin of this name is uncertain, but it may have come from the word which means "sword". The last element is which means "fjord".

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 (Heradsstyre) of Hjørundfjord was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Hjørundfjord:


 * 1837–1851: Hans Olsen Stokke
 * 1852–1853: Ole Olsen Saure
 * 1854–1857: Ole Torstensen Standal
 * 1858–1859: Edvard Storm Munch
 * 1870–1898: Paul Andreas Jetmundsen Aklestad (V)
 * 1899–1899: Arne Eliasson Grønningsæter
 * 1900–1907: Ole Christian Larsson Tvergrov
 * 1908–1916: John Olson Standal
 * 1917–1919: Jetmund Jakobson Skjaastad
 * 1920–1922: Ole Karlsen Tryggeseth
 * 1923–1931: Bernt Ingebriktson Håndlykken
 * 1932–1934: Knut Jonson Standal
 * 1935–1941: Elias Christian Fanneløb
 * 1941–1942: Trygve Nilsen (NS)
 * 1942–1945: Ola O. Skylstad (NS)
 * 1945–1945: Karl A. Tryggeseth
 * 1946–1959: Johannes Bjøringsøy
 * 1960–1963: Jakob E. Øye

Notable people

 * Knut Skram (born 1937), baritone
 * Rasmus Skylstad (1893–1972), diplomat