Bolsøy

For the island in Molde, Norway, see Bolsøya.

Bolsøy Municipality Bolsøy herred
Former municipality
Bolsø herred  (historic name)
Møre og Romsdal within Norway
Bolsøy within Møre og Romsdal
Coordinates: 62°46′49″N 07°29′33″E
Country	Norway
County	Møre og Romsdal
District	Romsdal
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished	1 Jan 1964
• Succeeded by	Molde Municipality
Administrative centre	Bolsøya
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	290 km^2 (110 sq mi)
Population  (1964)
• Total	7,996
• Density	28/km^2 (71/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1544[1]
Data from Statistics Norway

Bolsøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The 290-square-kilometre (110 sq mi) municipality of Bolsøy encompassed the area around the Fannefjorden including most of the present-day Molde Municipality, excluding the town of Molde. The municipality also included the Molde Archipelago and the island of Bolsøya. The administrative center of the municipality was located on the island of Bolsøya near the location of the main church for the parish, Bolsøy Church.[2]

History

Bolsøy included the areas surrounding the Fannefjorden

View of Kortgarden, a small village in Bolsøy

The parish of Bolsøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). According to the 1835 census, Bolsøy had a population of 2,391.[3] On 1 January 1877, the Sotnakken farm (population: 19) was added to Bolsøy Municipality from Nesset Municipality. In 1915, a part of Bolsøy with 183 inhabitants was transferred to the town of Molde. Again in 1952, another part of Bolsøy (population: 1,913) was transferred to the town of Molde.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Bolsøy Municipality (population: 7,996) ceased to exist when it was merged with the town of Molde (population: 8,239), the northern part of Veøy Municipality (population: 756), and the Mordal area (population: 77) from Nord-Aukra Municipality to form the new Molde Municipality.[4]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Bolsøya (Old Norse: Bylingsøy) since the first Bolsøy Church was built there. The first element comes from the old name for the island. The island's name is uncertain, but it may come from the word boli which means "bull". The last element is øy which means "island".[5] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Bolsø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Bolsøy.[6]

Government

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 (Herredsstyre) of Bolsøy was made up of 35 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Bolsøy herredsstyre 1960–1963 [8]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	15
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	8
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
Total number of members:		35

Bolsøy herredsstyre 1956–1959 [9]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	15
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	8
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
Total number of members:		35

Bolsøy herredsstyre 1952–1955 [10]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	13
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	8
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		32

Bolsøy herredsstyre 1948–1951 [11]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	0
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	6
Total number of members:		32

Bolsøy herredsstyre 1945–1947 [12]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	13
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	8
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	4
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		32

Bolsøy herredsstyre 1938–1941* [13]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	13
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	6
	Joint list of the Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) and the Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	2
Total number of members:		32
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 Bolsøy:[14]

• 1838–1840: Hans Jørgen Synnestvedt
• 1841–1843: Løve Sørensen Schevik
• 1844–1845: Lars Knudsen Hungnæs
• 1846–1849: Ebbe Carsten Tønder Astrup
• 1850–1851: Løve Sørensen Schevik
• 1852–1853: Ole Olsen Aarøe
• 1854–1857: Wollert Danckertsen Krohn
• 1858–1860: Petter Anton Møller
• 1860-1860: Ole Olsen Aarøe
• 1861–1875: Thomas Talseth
• 1876–1879: Lars Hungnes
• 1880–1885: Thomas Talseth
• 1886–1907: Lars Hungnes
• 1908–1919: Ole Thorvik
• 1920–1922: Christian Johannessen
• 1923–1928: Knut Kringstad
• 1929–1931: Aslak Hagen
• 1932–1936: Mathias A. Lervik
• 1937–1939: Knut Valved
• 1939–1941: Knut Kringstad
• 1946–1947: Ansgar Berild
• 1948–1951: Gunnar Solli
• 1952–1955: Ansgar Berild
• 1956–1957: Rolf Møller
• 1958–1959: Ingolf L. Pedersen
• 1960–1963: Leif J. Lunder

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway

References

1. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (9 January 2024). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon.
2. Store norske leksikon. "Bolsøy – tidligere kommune" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2010.
3. Registreringssentral for historiske data. "Hjemmehørende folkemengde Møre og Romsdal 1801-1960" (in Norwegian). University of Tromsø. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2006.
4. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
5. Rygh, Oluf (1908). Norske gaardnavne: Romsdals amt (in Norwegian) (13 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 278.
6. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
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.
14. "Liste over ordførere i Bolsøy kommune". Molde kommune (in Norwegian). 8 February 2019. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2023.