Møre og Romsdal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Møre og Romsdal is a county in the northernmost part of the Vestlandet region of Norway, and borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde. The county was formely known as Romsdalen amt.
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| County | NO-15 | |
| Region | Vestlandet | |
| Administrative centre | Molde | |
| County mayor | Jon Aasen (A) | |
| Area - Total - Percentage |
Ranked 11 15,121 km² 4.79 % |
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| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density |
Ranked 7 244,570 5.34 % 2.0 % 17/km² |
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| Gross Regional Product - Total (2001) - Percentage - GRP/capita |
Ranked 6 59,352 million NOK 3.89 % 243,412 NOK |
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Contents |
[edit] The name
The name Møre og Romsdal was created in 1936. The first element is referring to the two regions of Nordmøre and Sunnmøre, the last element is the name of the region Romsdal.
Until 1919 the county was called Romsdal amt. In the period 1919-1935 Møre fylke.
[edit] History
Ragnvald Eysteinsson, earl of Møre to 890 might be the father of Gange Rolf.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1978). It shows three vikingships (where the masts and the yards creates three crosses). The number of three represents the three districts of the county: Sunnmøre, Romsdal and Nordmøre.
[edit] Districts
The county is conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are Nordmøre (northernmost), Romsdal (in the middle) and Sunnmøre (to the south). Despite commercial and cultural relations between the districts, there have always been traditional rivalry between them. Historically speaking, connections have been stronger between Nordmøre and Sør-Trøndelag to the north, Romsdal and Oppland to the east, and Sunnmøre and Sogn og Fjordane to the south, than internally. Differences in dialects between the three districts bear clear evidence of this. Due to geographical features—the county has many populated islands and is intersected by several deep fjords—Møre og Romsdal has been very dependent on boat traffic, and its main car ferry company, MRF, has existed since 1921.
[edit] Nordmøre
- Aure (county's biggest wooden church; Liquid natural gas (LNG) pipeline from offshore gas field, w/refinery, methanol plant)
- Averøy (site of district's largest grotto, the Bremsnes cave, with traces of 10,000 yr old settlements of the Fosna culture)
- Eide (traditional and modern limestone (marble) quarries and related crafts industry; the Atlanterhavsvegen coastal road)
- Frei (location of 955 AD Viking battle Battle of Rastarkalv, between Haakon the Good and the sons of Erik Bloodaxe)
- Gjemnes (south anchorage of KRIFAST suspension bridge Gjemnessundbrua with 108 m high towers and a free span of 623 m)
- Halsa (traditional wooden boat building; Hollywood whale Keiko's voluntary retirement home and final resting place)
- Kristiansund (district capital, the county's oil industry capital, known for its export of cod for bacalao to Spain and Portugal. Also known for the "Frei-poems" written by Sunny Islam during his excile, (1745-1751))
- Rindal (traditionally known for very snowy winters and lots of cross-country skiing, former home of several ski factories)
- Smøla (home of the Kulisteinen from AD 1034, the rune stone with the first known mention of the country's name "Norway")
- Sunndal (county's largest-area municipality, deep U-shape valley, location of Europe's soon-to-be-largest aluminium works)
- Surnadal (location of Surna, one of the country's richest and most popular salmon rivers, a European scale tourist attraction)
- Tingvoll (medieval stone church from ca 1180 AD; 4000–5000 yr old artistic rock carvings; self-declared "ecology municipality")
[edit] Romsdal
- Aukra (site of Norway's best-known shipwreck and rescue operation of the 1900s, of cargo vessel Rokta April 4, 1938)
- Fræna (70 m deep limestone grotto Trollkirka, lit. "Troll's Church"; marble industry; heavy machinery producer Moxy Trucks)
- Midsund (site of stone wall constituting westernmost coastal part of border between Denmark-Norway and Sweden 1658–1660)
- Molde (district capital and county administrative capital, host of the annual Molde International Jazz Festival since 1961)
- Nesset (childhood home of Nobel prize laureate and playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson; also: Mardalsfossen waterfall)
- Rauma (with Åndalsnes, terminus of county's only railroad, Raumabanen, connected to Dovrebanen at Dombås, Oppland)
- Sandøy (county's smallest-area municipality; 871 isles, 5 inhabited; known for its Ona lighthouse of 1867, and local pottery)
- Vestnes (traditional shipbuilding, now evolved into modern shipyards; dairy industry exporting unique cheese Ridderost)
[edit] Sunnmøre
- Giske
- Haram (Municipality-Center is Brattvåg, being the industrial sweetspot of Sunnmøre, housing both Rolls-Royce and Aker Yards Factories. 'Rolls-Royce Deck Machinery Brattvåg' is the World's largest winch-manufacturer)
- Hareid
- Herøy
- Norddal
- Sande
- Skodje
- Stordal
- Stranda
- Sula
- Sykkylven
- Ulstein
- Vanylven
- Volda (educational and cultural centre, home of Norway's first rural lower secondary school; respected site of media education)
- Ørskog
- Ørsta (birthplace of linguist Ivar Aasen and hymn writer Anders Hovden; known for mountainous terrain and a diverse economy)
- Ålesund (the largest city in the region, known for its many Art Nouveau buildings partly sponsored by German Kaiser Wilhelm after 1904 fire)
[edit] Municipalities
Møre og Romsdal has a total of 38 municipalities:
[edit] External links
| Counties of Norway |  |
|---|---|
| Akershus | Aust-Agder | Buskerud | Finnmark | Hedmark | Hordaland | Møre og Romsdal | Nordland | Nord-Trøndelag | Oppland | Oslo | Østfold | Rogaland | Sogn og Fjordane | Sør-Trøndelag | Telemark | Troms | Vest-Agder | Vestfold | |
