Hareid


Hareid is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Hareid. The other main population centers are Brandal and Hjørungavåg.
The municipality is situated off the mainland coast of Sunnmøre, on an island named Hareidlandet, which it shared with Ulstein Municipality, the commercial capital of the area. Hareid is regarded as the cultural capital with its annual Hareidsstemne and many choirs. It is also an important traffic hub in Sunnmøre and is connected by ferry to the neighboring island of Sula which in turn is connected to the city of Ålesund and the island of Valderøya. The municipality is connected to the mainland via the Eiksund Bridge and Eiksund Tunnel through Ulstein.
The municipality is the 336th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hareid is the 177th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,175. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Hareid was established on 1 January 1917 when it was separated from Ulstein Municipality to form a municipality of its own. Originally, the municipality included the eastern part of Hareidlandet island and the southwestern part of the nearby island of Sula. The initial population of the municipality was 2,310. On 1 July 1958, the southwestern part of the island of Sula was transferred from Hareid Municipality to Borgund Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Hareid farm, since the first Hareid Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the island Hǫð and the last element is eið which means "isthmus". The meaning of the name of the island is unknown. It is however speculated that it might be connected to the Norse god Höðr.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 11 January 1985. The arms show three arrowheads in white on a blue background. The arrowheads were chosen as a symbol for the Battle of Hjörungavágr in 986, in which Earl Håkon defeated the Danish Vikings. This battle played an important role in the struggle by Håkon to unite the whole of Norway. Since the battle took place in the municipality, the arrowheads were considered an appropriate symbol.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Hareid. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
HareidHareid ChurchHareid1877

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hareid, are responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Hareid is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Hareid :

Primary industries

such as fisheries and agriculture have traditionally been important ways of life in Hareid, and continue to be so for some of the population.

Industry

In recent years Hareid has developed into a modern industrial municipality with a variety of industries, including furniture, fish farming, offshore and subsea ship systems, and other manufacturers of ship equipment. Many Hareid companies specialize in manufacturing maritime equipment and components, and are part of the maritime cluster of Sunnmøre. Such clusters are considered by the EU to be powerful engines of economic development and drivers for innovation in Europe.

Industrial companies

The municipal centre of Hareid is home to Hareid elementary school and Hareid junior high school, with two more elementary schools in more rural parts of the municipality.
After finishing junior high school in Hareid, students can complete a high school education in one of Hareid's neighbouring communities such as Ulsteinvik or Ålesund.