Øksendal is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The 223 km2 municipality existed from 1854 until its dissolution in 1960. It had one of the smallest municipal populations in Norway. It was located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Sunndal, along the Sunndalsfjorden. It included the coastal area along the fjord as well as the whole Øksendalen valley. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Øksendalsøra, where Øksendal Church is also located.

History

In 1854, the parish of Øksendal was separated from the large municipality of Sunndal to establish the new municipality of Øksendal. Initially, Øksendal had a population of 1,291. On 1 January 1899, the northern part of the municipality, located on the northern side of the Sunndalsfjorden, (population: 462) was separated to become the new municipality of Ulvundeid. This left Øksendal with 654 inhabitants. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, Øksendal Municipality (population: 497) was merged with Ålvundeid Municipality (population: 513) and Sunndal Municipality (population: 5,851) to form a new, larger Sunndal Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Øksendalen valley. The first element is usma which is the name for the river that runs through the valley. The meaning of the name is unknown. The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Øksendalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Øksendal, removing the definite form ending -en.

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.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Øksendal was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: