Veøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Molde Municipality and Rauma Municipality in the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre was located on the small island of Veøya where the Old Veøy Church is located (the island was also the namesake of the municipality).
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 329th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Veøy Municipality was the 406th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 2,208. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 8.2% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The parish of Veøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In the fall of 1838, the western district of Veøy Municipality was separated from Veøy to become the new Vestnes Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Veøy Municipality ceased to exist and its area were divided into two. The islands of Sekken and Veøya as well as the Nesjestranda district on the mainland north of the Langfjorden (with a total population of 756) were incorporated into the newly enlarged Molde Municipality. The remainder of Veøy on the south side of the Langfjorden and the Vågstranda area (population: 1,400) were merged with Eid Municipality, Grytten Municipality, Hen Municipality, and Voll Municipality to form the new Rauma Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Veøya () since the first Veøy Church was built there and it was the religious center of the whole Romsdal region. The first element part is which means "sanctuary" (Vé is a word that comes from German paganism). The last element is which means "island". Thus, the name refers to it being a holy island. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Veø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Veøy.
Churches The Church of Norway had three parishes () within Veøy Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Veøy prestegjeld and the Ytre Romsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Churches in Veøy MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtVeøyVeøy ChurchSølsnes1907Sekken ChurchSekken1908Old Veøy ChurchVeøyaHolmHolm ChurchHolm (east of Åfarnes)1907Rødven ChurchRødven1907Rødven Stave ChurchRødvenVågstrandaVågstranda ChurchVågstranda1870
Geography The municipality was located around the great Romsdalsfjorden. Vestnes Municipality and Tresfjord Municipality were to the west, Bolsøy Municipality was to the north, and Nesset Municipality and Eresfjord og Vistdal Municipality were to the east. Hen Municipality, Grytten Municipality, Eid Municipality, and Voll Municipality were all located to the south of Veøy Municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Prosten, on the border with Voll Municipality.
History Landslide Just before 8:00 p.m. on 22 February 1756, a landslide with a volume of — the largest known landslide in Norway in historic time — traveled at high speed from a height of on the side of the mountain Tjellafjellet into the Langfjorden from Veøy. The slide generated three megatsunamis in the immediate area in the Langfjorden and the Eresfjorden with heights of . Damaging waves reached Veøya, where, although reduced in size, they washed inland above normal flood levels.
Government While it existed, Veøy Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The 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 was under the jurisdiction of the Frostating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Veøy Municipality was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Veøy Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1842: Ole Olsen Nesje 1843–1845: Rev. Tybring 1846–1847: Jon Bjerke 1848–1852: Christian Frost 1852–1853: Knud I. Dalsæt 1854–1855: Jørgen Olafsen 1856–1859: Knud I. Dalset 1860–1861: Jørgen Olafsen 1862–1874: Rasmus Rolfsen Arnet 1874–1888: Jørgen Olafsen 1888–1889: Anders L. Dalset 1890–1899: Ole H. Holm 1899–1908: O. Ødegaard 1908–1911: Erik Flovik 1911–1919: Lars Ottestad 1920–1931: Nils Nesje 1931–1934: P.A. Kjølset 1934–1937: Nils Nesje 1937–1941: Peder Vik 1941–1945: David Reistad 1945–1955: Leif Ottestad 1955–1964: Peder Mork (KrF)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References