Tresfjord

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

Tresfjord is former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1899 until its dissolution in 1964. It encompassed about 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) in the southern part of the present-day Vestnes Municipality. The municipality included the Skorgedalen valley and the area surrounding both sides of the southern half of the Tresfjorden. The village of Tresfjord was the administrative centre of the municipality, and it was the location of Tresfjord Church, the main church for the municipality.^[2]

Tresfjord Municipality Tresfjord herad
Former municipality
Sylte herred  (historic name)
Møre og Romsdal within Norway
Tresfjord within Møre og Romsdal
Coordinates: 62°31′14″N 07°07′23″E
Country	Norway
County	Møre og Romsdal
District	Romsdal
Established	1 Jan 1899
• Preceded by	Vestnes Municipality
Disestablished	1 Jan 1964
• Succeeded by	Vestnes Municipality
Administrative centre	Tresfjord
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	200 km2 (80 sq mi)
Population  (1964)
• Total	1,319
• Density	6.6/km2 (17/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1536[1]
Data from Statistics Norway

History

View of the Tresfjord Church

View of the Tresfjorden area

The municipality of Sylte was established on 1 January 1899 when it was separated from Vestnes Municipality. The initial population was 1,408. The name was changed to Tresfjord on 28 April 1922.^[3]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality ceased to exist when it became a part of Vestnes Municipality once again. The population at that time was 1,319.^[3]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) was first named Sylte. This comes from the old Sylte farm (Old Norse: Sultar) since the first Sylte Church was built there. The name comes from the genitive case of the word sultr which means "hunger" or "famine", possibly referring to a swampy area near the farm that is not suitable for farming.^[4]

On 26 April 1922, a royal resolution changed the name of the municipality to Tresfjord.^[5] The new name was taken from the local fjord, Tresfjorden (Old Norse: Þræsir). The main village in the municipality was located at the head of the fjord and it was also named Tresfjord. The first element comes from the local river Tressa. This name is probably derived from the word træsa which means "to walk restlessly back and forth" or "to trot about". This likely refers to the strong current in the fjord. The last element is fjord which means "fjord".^[6]

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.^[7]

Municipal council

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

Tresfjord heradsstyre 1960–1963 ^[8]  

Party name (in Nynorsk)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		13

Tresfjord heradsstyre 1956–1959 ^[9]  

Party name (in Nynorsk)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)	2
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		13

Tresfjord heradsstyre 1952–1955 ^[10]  

Party name (in Nynorsk)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)	4
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		12

Tresfjord heradsstyre 1948–1951 ^[11]  

Party name (in Nynorsk)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)	4
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	8
Total number of members:		12

Tresfjord heradsstyre 1945–1947 ^[12]  

Party name (in Nynorsk)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)	4
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		12

Tresfjord heradsstyre 1938–1941* ^[13]  

Party name (in Nynorsk)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)	5
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		12
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.

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway

See also: Vestnes § Notable_residents

References

1. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
2. Store norske leksikon. "Tresfjord kommune" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 3 June 2013.
3. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
4. Rygh, Oluf (1908). Norske gaardnavne: Romsdals amt (in Norwegian) (13 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 211.
5. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1922. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 182. 1922.
6. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (28 December 2022). "Tresfjord (tettsted)". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
7. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
8. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
9. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
10. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
11. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
12. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
13. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 20 April 2020.