Veøy

Just before 8:00 p.m. on 22 February 1756, a landslide with a volume of 12,000,000 to 15,000,000 cubic metres (16,000,000 to 20,000,000 cubic yards) — the largest known landslide in Norway in historic time — traveled at high speed from a height of 400 metres (1,312 ft) on the side of the mountain Tjellafjellet into the Langfjorden 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Veøy. The slide generated three mega-tsunamis in the immediate area in the Langfjorden and the Eresfjorden with heights of 40 to 50 metres (131 to 164 ft). Damaging waves reached Veøy, where, although reduced in size, they washed inland 20 metres (66 ft) above normal flood levels.[4]

The parish of Veøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The western district of Veøy was separated in the fall of 1838 to become Vestnes Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the islands of Sekken and Veøya as well as the Nesjestranda district on the mainland north of the Langfjorden (with a total population of 756) were incorporated into the newly enlarged Molde Municipality. The remainder of Veøy on the south side of the Langfjorden and the Vågstranda area (population: 1,400) were merged with the small municipalities of Eid, Grytten, Hen, and Voll to form the new Rauma Municipality.[5]

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Veøya (Old Norse: Véøy) since the first Veøy Church was built there and it was the religious center of the whole Romsdal region. The first element part is vé which means "sanctuary" (Vé is a word that comes from German paganism). The last element is øy which means "island". Thus, the name refers to it being a holy island. The name was historically spelled Veø.[6]

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Veøy was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: