Halsa

This article is about the former municipality in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. For other uses, see Halsa (disambiguation).

Halsa is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 2020 when it became part of Heim Municipality in Trondelag county. It was part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre of Halsa was the village of Liabøen. Other villages in the municipality included Todalen, Halsanaustan, Valsøyfjord, Engan, Hjellnes, and Valsøybotnen.

Halsa Municipality Halsa kommune
Former municipality
Halse herred  (historic name)
Ferry quay in Halsanaustan
Flag Coat of arms
Møre og Romsdal within Norway
Halsa within Møre og Romsdal
Coordinates: 63°06′50″N 08°28′13″E
Country	Norway
County	Møre og Romsdal
District	Nordmøre
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished	1 Jan 2020
• Succeeded by	Heim Municipality
Administrative centre	Liabøen
Government
• Mayor (2007-2019)	Ola Rognskog (Sp)
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	300.53 km2 (116.04 sq mi)
• Land	292.29 km2 (112.85 sq mi)
• Water	8.24 km2 (3.18 sq mi)  2.7%
• Rank	#279 in Norway
Population  (2018)
• Total	1,571
• Rank	#349 in Norway
• Density	5.4/km2 (14/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−6%
Demonym	Halsabygg[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Neutral
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1571[3]
Data from Statistics Norway

At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the 301-square-kilometre (116 sq mi) municipality was the 279th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Halsa was the 349th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,571. The municipality's population density was 5.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (14/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 6% over the last decade.^[4][5]

General information

View of the Skålvik Fjord

View of the Valsøyfjorden

The parish of Halsa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1868, an unpopulated area of Halsa was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Straumsnes. On 1 January 1879, a part of Halsa (population: 279) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Stangvik. The next year, the Torjulvågen area (population: 240) on the west side of the Halsafjorden was transferred to Tingvoll Municipality. On 1 July 1915, part of southern Halsa (population: 114) was transferred to Åsskard Municipality.^[6]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, all of Valsøyfjord Municipality that was located on the mainland (population: 1,104) was merged into Halsa Municipality. On 1 January 1976, the district of Aure Municipality located south of the Vinjefjorden (population: 158) was transferred to Halsa Municipality.^[6]

On 1 January 2020, Halsa merged with the neighboring municipality of Hemne and the Ytre Snillfjord area in the municipality of Snillfjord to form Heim Municipality. The new municipality is located in Trøndelag county, which means that as part of the merger Halsa left Møre og Romsdal county and moved to Trøndelag.^[7]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Halsa farm (Old Norse: Hǫlsyinjar) since the first Halsa Church was built there. The first element comes from the plural form of the word hals which means "neck". Here, the word hals is referring to an isthmus (or neck of land) between two fjords: Halsafjorden and the Skålvikfjorden. The last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture".^[8] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Halse. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Halsa.^[9]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 19 August 1988 and it was in use until 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Per bend sinister embattled argent and azure" (Norwegian: Venstre skrådelt av sølv og blått ved tindesnitt). This means the arms have are divided with a diagonal line that is embattled. The field (background) below the line has a tincture of azure. Above the line, the field 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 embattled line symbolizes the municipal coastline since there are three fjords (Halsafjorden, Skålvikfjorden and Valsøyfjorden) protruding inland from the north coast of the municipality. The arms were designed by Asbjørn Heggem. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^[10][11][12]

Churches

The Church of Norway had two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Halsa. It was part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Churches in Halsa

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Halsa	Halsa Church	Halsanaustan	1734
Valsøyfjord	Valsøyfjord Church	Valsøyfjord	1864

Geography

Halsa had numerous fjords in and around the municipality including the Halsafjorden, Vinjefjorden, Arasvikfjorden, Skålvikfjorden, and Valsøyfjorden. The Valsøy Bridge crossed the Valsøyfjorden. There were ferry connections to Tingvoll Municipality to the west and to Aure Municipality to the north.

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[13] The municipality falls under the Nordmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Halsa is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Halsa kommunestyre 2016–2019 ^[14]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	10
Total number of members:		15

Halsa kommunestyre 2012–2015 ^[15]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Cross-party local list (Tverrpolitisk bygdeliste)	3
Total number of members:		15

Halsa kommunestyre 2008–2011 ^[14]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Cross-party local list (Tverrpolitisk bygdeliste)	3
Total number of members:		15

Halsa kommunestyre 2004–2007 ^[14]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Cross-party local list (Tverrpolitisk bygdeliste)	4
Total number of members:		15

Halsa kommunestyre 2000–2003 ^[14]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Cross-party local list (Tverrpolitisk bygdeliste)	6
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1996–1999 ^[16]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	9
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1992–1995 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	9
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1988–1991 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1984–1987 ^[19]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
	Valsøyfjord free list (Valsøyfjord Friliste)	2
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1980–1983 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Valsøyfjord Free List (Valsøyfjord Friliste)	4
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1976–1979 ^[21]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1972–1975 ^[22]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	8
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1968–1971 ^[23]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	5
Total number of members:		21

Halsa kommunestyre 1964–1967 ^[24]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
Total number of members:		17

Halsa herredsstyre 1960–1963 ^[25]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	2
Total number of members:		17

Halsa herredsstyre 1956–1959 ^[26]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	7
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	3
Total number of members:		17

Halsa herredsstyre 1952–1955 ^[27]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	7
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	3
Total number of members:		16

Halsa herredsstyre 1948–1951 ^[28]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	8
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	2
Total number of members:		16

Halsa herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[29]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	9
Total number of members:		16

Halsa herredsstyre 1938–1941* ^[30]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	12
Total number of members:		16
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

Mayors

The mayors of Halsa (incomplete list):

• 1999-2003: Ivar Betten (Ap)
• 2003-2007: Margrete Seter (LL)
• 2007-2019: Ola Rognskog (Sp)

Attractions

Halsa was the location where the famous killer whale, Keiko, went when he was set free. Keiko died in December 2003 and was buried there. The people of Halsa have built a memorial cairn over Keiko's body, where people from all over the world are free to visit him. In the first year after his burial, around 5,000 people visited the grave but then fewer and fewer came and in 2007 only around 500 visitors paid him homage. In June 2008, hardly anyone had come to see the grave, so the municipality decided it would not continue keeping the grave in order.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people

• See also: Heim,_Norway § Notable_people

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway

References

1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
3. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
4. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2018). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 April 2019.
5. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 April 2019.
6. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
7. "Ny kommune - Halsa, Snillfjord og Hemne" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 October 2017.
8. Rygh, Oluf (1908). Norske gaardnavne: Romsdals amt (in Norwegian) (13 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 448.
9. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
10. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
11. "Halsa, Møre og Romsdal". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
12. "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 19 August 1988. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
13. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
14. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
15. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Trøndelag" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
16. "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
17. "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
18. "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
19. "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
20. "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
21. "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
22. "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
23. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
24. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
25. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
26. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
27. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
28. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
29. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
30. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 26 April 2020.

External links

• Media related to Halsa at Wikimedia Commons
• Trøndelag travel guide from Wikivoyage