Hjørundfjord is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The 277-square-kilometre (107 sq mi) 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.[3]
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.[4]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Hjørundfjorden (Old Norse: Hjǫrundarfjǫrdr). The first element is the old name of the fjord, Old Norse: Hjǫrund. This origin of this name is uncertain, but it may have come from the word hjǫrr which means "sword". The last element is fjǫrdr which means "fjord".[5]
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: