Skodje

Skodje ( or ) is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre was the village of Skodje. The other main village in the municipality was Valle.

The European Route E39/E136 highway runs through the municipality, connecting it to the nearby cities of Ålesund and Molde.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 120 km2 municipality is the 365th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Skodje is the 211th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,680. The municipality's population density is 42.3 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 24.8% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Skodje was established in 1849 when it was separated from the large Borgund municipality. The initial population of Skodje was 2,170. On 1 January 1902, the northern district of Skodje was separated to form the new Vatne Municipality. This left Skodje with 1,551 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, there was a merger between Stordal Municipality, Ørskog Municipality, and Skodje Municipality, creating a new, large Ørskog Municipality. This was merger was short-lived. On 1 January 1977, the merger was reversed all three municipalities were separated once again. This left the newly reconstituted Skodje Municipality with a population of 2,634.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Skodje was merged with Haram Municipality, Ørskog Municipality, Sandøy Municipality, and Ålesund Municipality to form one large municipality of Ålesund.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Skodje farm (Skǫðin) since the first Skodje Church was built there. The first element comes from the word which has an unknown meaning. The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". Before 1879, the name was written Skoue.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 19 June 1987 and they were in use until the municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020. The official blazon is "Vert, an arched embattled bridge Or" (På grøn grunn ei gull kvelvingsbru med tindar). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is an arched bridge design. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The design was meant to mimic the local Skodje Bridge, a very old bridge which crosses over the Straumen river, a major architectural feat at its time. 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 Skodje. It was part of the Austre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The municipality of Skodje shared land borders with Haram Municipality to the north, Vestnes Municipality to the northeast, Ørskog Municipality to the southeast, and Ålesund Municipality to the west. Across the Storfjorden to the south was Sykkylven Municipality. Skodje municipality was located on the mainland and also on part of the island of Oksenøya, plus many small surrounding islands. The Ellingsøyfjorden cut into the municipality from the west.

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 Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Skodje is 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 Skodje:

(1965-1977: part of Ørskog Municipality)
 * 1901-1901: Ole P. Klokk
 * 1902–1912: Andreas Langnes
 * 1914–1922: Lars J. Valde
 * 1923–1924: Trygve Brusdal
 * 1925–1925: Johan Salkjelsvik
 * 1926–1928: Andreas Langnes
 * 1929–1934: Lars J. Valde
 * 1935–1941: Rasmus Øvstegård
 * 1948–1961: Trygve Brusdal
 * 1961–1965: Jostein Valde
 * 1977–1983: Otto Berg
 * 1983–1987: Torunn Möisæter (H)
 * 1987–1991: Haldor Aasebø (KrF)
 * 1991–1995: Per Stette
 * 1995–2003: Ole Stokke (V)
 * 2003–2007: Terje Vadset (FrP)
 * 2007–2011: Modolf Hareide (Sp)
 * 2011–2015: Terje Vadset (FrP)
 * 2015–2019: Dag Olav Tennfjord (H)

Economy
Skodje's economy was mostly based on agriculture and forestry, but there was also industry, lumber, and furniture-industry located there. By the 21st century, some industries had relocated from the nearby town of Ålesund to Skodje. Skodje had a young population, where 60% of the people were under the age of 40.