Vanylven


Vanylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Fiskåbygd. Other villages in the municipality include Sandnes, Åheim, Åram, Rovdane, Eidså, Slagnes, and Myklebost.
The municipality is the 240th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vanylven is the 226th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,117. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 10.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of Vanelven was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The spelling was later changed to Vanylven. On 1 February 1918, the area around the Syvdsfjorden was separated to become the new Syvde Municipality. This left Vanylven with 1,848 residents.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Syvde Municipality and the Rovdestranda area of Rovde Municipality were both merged into Vanylven Municipality. This gave Vanylven a new population of 3,897.
On 1 January 2002, the mainland Åram area north of Fiskåbygd was transferred from Sande Municipality to Vanylven Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after Vanylvsfjorden. The meaning of the first element is unknown, but the last element is also found in the names Sunnylven and Sykkylven and it probably means "fjord".
Before 1889, the name was written "Vanelven", from 1889-1917 it was spelled "Vannelven", and since 1918 it has been spelled "Vanylven".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 11 December 1987. The arms are meant to show how the Vanylvsfjorden meets the sea, surrounded by the fertile green lands of Vanylven. The fertile lands and the sea which is full of herring are both important industries to the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes within the municipality of Vanylven. It is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
VanylvenVanylven ChurchSlagnes1863
SyvdeSyvde ChurchMyklebost1837
RovdeRovde ChurchRovdane1872
ÅramÅram ChurchÅram1927
ÅheimSaint Jetmund ChurchÅheim1130

Geography

Vanylven borders the municipalities of Sande and Herøy in the north. Volda Municipality lies to the east; and the municipalities of Eid, Vågsøy and Selje are located to the south.
Vanylven is located on the mainland of Norway and it is surrounded by several fjords. The Vanylvsfjorden lies to the west and the Rovdefjorden to the north. The Syvdsfjorden cuts into the municipality from the north and it empties into the Rovdefjorden. The Syltefjorden branches off the main Vanylvsfjorden, just past the village of Fiskåbygd.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vanylven, 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 Søre Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Vanylven 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 Vanylven :