Hustadvika (municipality)


Hustadvika is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Nordmøre and Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Elnesvågen. Other villages in the municipality include Hustad, Bud, Tornes, Sylte, Malme, Aureosen, Eide, Lyngstad, Vevang, and Visnes.
The municipality is the 203rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hustadvika is the 90th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,279. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Eide and Fræna were merged to form the new municipality of Hustadvika.

Name

The municipality is named after the long Hustadvika coastline, located in the northern part of the municipality. It is reminiscent of the name for the former municipality, Hustad, which existed from 1918 until its dissolution in 1964.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was approved in 2019. They were designed by Madelen Behrendt and Øystein Hauge. They are blue with two white interlocking designs representing a fish and a plow. These were chosen to symbolize the two main industries of the municipality: fishing and agriculture.

Churches

The Church of Norway has five parishes within the municipality of Hustadvika. It is part of the Molde domprosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
BudBud ChurchBud1717
EideEide ChurchEide1871
EideGaustad ChapelGaustad, near Vevang2001
HustadHustad ChurchHustad1874
MyrbostadMyrbostad ChurchElnesvågen1880
VågøyVågøy ChurchVågøya1904

Geography

The municipality of Hustadvika sits on the northwestern end of the Romsdal Peninsula along the Hustadvika shoreline, just west of the island of Averøya. The Norwegian Sea lies to the north, the Harøyfjorden, Julsundet strait, and Aukra Municipality lie to the west, Molde Municipality and Gjemnes Municipality lie to the south, and Averøy Municipality and the Kornstadfjorden lie to the east.
The Frænfjorden cuts into the middle of the municipality. The coastal areas are low and marshy while the interior of the municipality is mountainous. Two of the more notable mountains are Jendemsfjellet and Heiane. The Bjørnsund islands lie off the northwestern coast. They are now uninhabited, but the Bjørnsund Lighthouse is still in operation. Kvitholmen Lighthouse lies just off the northern coast of the municipality, in an area with hundreds of small islands and skerries.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hustadvika, 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 elects a mayor. The municipality falls under the Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Hustadvika is made up of 37 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: