Sande is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Larsnes on the island of Gurskøya. Other villages in Sande include Gjerdsvika, Haugsbygda, Sandshamn, Bringsinghaug, and Voksa.
The municipality is the 332nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Sande Municipality is the 261st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,438. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 7.5% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
Sande was established as a municipality on 1 January 1867 when it was separated from the large Herøy Municipality. The initial population was 2,493. On 1 January 1873, a part of eastern Sande Municipality (with 362 residents) was transferred back to Herøy Municipality. On 1 January 1889, the Eksund area and the island of Ekø (population: 119) were transferred to Herøy Municipality.
On 1 January 1905, the eastern district of Sande Municipality was separated to form the new Rovde Municipality. This left Sande Municipality with 2,221 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the northern part of Rovde Municipality (population: 562) plus three farms in the Gurskedalen valley (population: 25) were merged back with Sande Municipality (the southern part of Rovde was merged with Vanylven Municipality). The new Sande Municipality had a population of 3,465. On 1 January 2002, the Åram area (population: 380) on the mainland was transferred from Sande Municipality to Vanylven Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Sande farm () since the first Sande Church was built there. The name comes from the word which means "sand" or "sandy beach". Before 1892, the name was written Sandø.
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 23 October 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, a line buoy argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a line buoy. The line buoy has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea. This symbol was chosen since it was historically used by fishermen in ocean and fjords around the island municipality. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth who based it off an idea from Helge Kragseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The Church of Norway has two parishes () within Sande Municipality. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. Churches in Sande MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtSandeSande ChurchSande on Sandsøya1880GurskenGursken ChurchHaugsbygda1919Larsnes ChapelLarsnes1989
Geography Sande is composed of many islands including Sandsøya, Kvamsøya, Voksa, Riste, and part of Gurskøya (which is shared with neighboring Herøy). The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Sollia which is located on the island of Gurskøya, along the border with Herøy Municipality. The island municipality sits north of the Rovdefjorden and east of the Vanylvsfjorden. The Haugsholmen Lighthouse sits in the southwest part of the municipality.
Government Sande Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council () of Sande Municipality is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Sande Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:
1867–1870: Knut R. Bjørlykke 1871–1880: Bendt L. Redse 1881–1898: Rasmus K. Sætre 1899–1905: Daniel D. Liset 1905–1919: Hans J. Aaram 1920–1922: Ole S. Dyrkoren 1923–1937: August A. Kragset 1938–1941: Jakob Sætre 1941–1941: Torvald Baade (NS) 1941–1945: Oskar Sandanger (NS) 1945–1947: Jakob Sætre 1948–1951: Sverre Myklebust 1952–1955: Torvald Baade 1956–1957: Sverre Myklebust 1958–1975: Petter H. Kragset (V) 1976–1981: John Gjerde (V) 1982–1983: Jon Martin Bringsvor (H) 1984–1987: John Gjerde (V) 1988–2003: Arne Dyrhol (H) 2003–2007: Jon Garen (Sp) 2007–2019: Dag Arne Vaagen (H) 2019–2023: Olav Myklebust (Sp) 2023–present: Dag Arne Vaagen (H)
Notable people Ingolf Rogde (1911 in Haugsholmen, Sande – 1978), an actor with the touring theatre Riksteatret. Retrieved 26 March 2021. Bjartmar Gjerde (1931 in Larsnes, Sande – 2009), a politician, government minister, and DG of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Odd S. Lovoll (born 1934 in Sande), a Norwegian-American author, historian, educator, and academic Morten Schakenda (born 1966 in Gjerdsvika, Sande), a cook and leading chef Jan Åge Fjørtoft (born 1967 in Gursken, Sande), a former footballer with 497 club caps and 71 for Norway
Gallery
References
External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway