Country Norway District Sunnmøre Area rank 371 in Norway Population 4,282 (2010) Official language form Nynorsk | County Møre og Romsdal Administrative centre Skodje Area 120.3 km² Local time Thursday 5:48 PM | |
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Demonym(s) Skodjebygdar
Skodjebygder Weather 2°C, Wind SW at 8 km/h, 58% Humidity Points of interest Sandstøa, Sjukestranda, Flateskjeret, Lilleskjeret | ||
Skodje (Pronunciation: [skɔʏə] or [skøʏə]) is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Skodje. The other main village in the municipality is Valle.
Contents
Map of Skodje, 6260, Norway
The European Route E39/E136 highway runs through the municipality, connecting it to the nearby cities of Ålesund and Molde.
General information
The municipality of Skodje was established in 1849 when it was separated from the large Borgund municipality. The initial population of Skodje was 2,170. On 1 January 1902, the northern district of Skodje was separated to form the separate municipality of Vatne. This left Skodje with 1,551 residents. On 1 January 1965, there was a merger between Stordal Municipality, Ørskog Municipality, and Skodje Municipality, creating a new, large Ørskog Municipality. This was merger was short-lived. On 1 January 1977, the merger was reversed and Skodje became a separate municipality once again, with a population of 2,634.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Skodje farm (Old Norse: Sköðvin), since the first church (Skodje Church) was built there. The meaning of the first element is unknown, but the last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture". Before 1879, the name was written Skoue.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 19 June 1987. The arms show the local ancient stone bridge, the Skodje Bridge, which crosses over the Straumen river, a major architectural feat at its time.
Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Skodje. It is part of the Austre Sunnmøre deanery in the Diocese of Møre.
Geography
The municipality of Skodje shares land borders with Haram Municipality to the north, Vestnes Municipality to the northeast, Ørskog Municipality to the southeast, and Ålesund Municipality to the west. Across the Storfjorden to the south is Sykkylven Municipality. Skodje municipality is located on the mainland and also on part of the island of Oksenøya, plus many small surrounding islands. The Ellingsøyfjorden cuts into the municipality from the west.
Economy
Skodje's economy is mostly based on agriculture and forestry, but there is also industry, lumber, and furniture-industry located there. Some industries have relocated from Ålesund to Skodje. Skodje has a young population, where 60% of the people are under the age of 40.