Ørsta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ørsta kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Møre og Romsdal | ||
| District | Sunnmøre | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1520 | ||
| Administrative centre | Ørsta | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2007) | Gudny Fagerhol (AP) | ||
| Area (Nr. 136 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 805 km² (310.8 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 785 km² (303.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 10,267 | ||
| - Density | 13/km² (33.7/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 0.0 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 99 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Nynorsk | ||
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| Website: www.orsta.kommune.no | |||
Ørsta is a municipality in the county of Møre og Romsdal, Norway.
The municipality was separated from Volda August 1, 1883. The municipalities of Hjørundfjord and Vartdal were merged with Ørsta January 1, 1964.
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[edit] The name
The municipality is named after Ørstafjorden (Old Norse Œrstr). The meaning of the name is unknown.
Until 1918 the name was written Ørsten.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1984). The three figures is meant to represent mountains reflecting in the fjord.
[edit] Geography
Of the total area, 48% (or 386 km²) is at an altitude of 600 meters or more above sea level.
Apart from the mountains, Ørsta's dominant geographical feature is fjords; Storfjorden in the north, Vartdalsfjorden and Ørstafjorden in the west, and Hjørundfjorden in the east. Only in the south is it connected by land to neighbouring Volda. Otherwise, it borders to Sula in the north, Hareid and Ulstein (by sea only) in the west, Sykkylven to the north-east, Stranda to the south-east and Sogn og Fjordane county to the south-southeast.
Population centres include Vartdal, Barstadvik, Hovdebygda, Sæbø, Åmdal and the administrative centre Ørsta, from which the municipality is named.
Ørsta is known as the birthplace of Ivar Aasen, Norwegian philologist and lexicographer, creator of the nynorsk language.
The municipality is also the heartland of the Sunnmørsalpene, a particularly rugged and wild area of mountains in the southern part of Møre og Romsdal. Prolific peaks include Slogen (1,564 m), Skårasalen (1,542 m), Kolåstinden (1,432 m), Ramoen (1,419 m), Saudehornet (1,303 m), and Romedalstinden (1,295 m).
[edit] Economy
Important sectors are industry, agriculture, commercial fishing and aquaculture. The first two are predominant in the village Ørsta and adjacent valleys. On the other hand, the northern part of the municipality has strong naval traditions, with Vartdal being the home of one of the largest factory trawler fleets in Norway.
[edit] Communications
These include Ørsta-Volda Airport at Hovdebygda, and the E39 highway which transsects the municipality in a north-south direction. Ørsta is linked to Sula by ferry at Festøy on its northernmost extreme; it is also linked to Ulstein an underwater tunnel opened at the 23rd of February 2008 that is, currently, the world's deepest.
[edit] External links
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