Stranda

The parish of Stranden was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1892, the northern district of the municipality (population: 850) was separated to form the new Stordal Municipality. This left Stranda with 1,459 residents. The spelling was changed to Stranda in 1918. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Sunnylven Municipality (population: 1,221) was merged into Stranda, forming a new, larger Stranda Municipality.[5]

The Geirangerfjord as seen from Dalsnibba

The West Norwegian Fjords, entailing Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2005 at the 29th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Durban, South Africa. The West Norwegian Fjords is the first natural World Heritage site in Norway, and the third natural site in the Nordic – Baltic region.

The West Norwegian Fjords are characterised as the best geologically developed and preserved example of classic fjord landscape. The geology and ongoing erosional processes have provided a basis for the active development of ecological and biological processes as well as the development of traditional, in part extreme, land use that has not harmed the integrity of the natural site.

Due to its natural environment, this scenic area is one of the most visited in the Nordic countries. The area has examples of landforms shaped and developed by ice and water, a landscape with significant geomorphological features, and a very young landscape in terms of Earth history that is continuously being formed by active erosional processes. The area represents the most extreme and dramatic fjord landscape in the world and has an exceptional aesthetic importance.

The Seven Sisters waterfall is located along the Geirangerfjord. The mountain Dalsnibba and the lake Djupvatnet are located along Norwegian County Road 63 in the southern part of the municipality. The mountains of Kvitegga and Hornindalsrokken lie on the southern municipal border.

All municipalities in Norway, including Stranda, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), 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 elect a mayor.[8] The municipality falls under the Sunnmøre District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Cruise ships at Geiranger

Tourism has long and strong traditions in Stranda. The villages of Geiranger and Hellesylt have long been well-known destinations. The first cruise ship with tourists from abroad came to Geiranger in 1869. Today, Geiranger is the second largest cruise ship port in Norway, visited by 160 cruise ships every summer. The Coastal Steamer (Hurtigruten) runs daily round trips Ålesund-Geiranger from April to mid-September. Altogether about 700,000 tourists visit Geiranger each summer.

Royal persons, especially Queen Sonja, have contributed to make the fjord famous all over the world. By annual trips, visiting, and even spending the night on these abandoned mountains farms such as Skageflå, and publishing a book about these trips with her own photos that have also been exhibited in New York, among other places. Other historic farms include Knivsflå and Me-Åkernes.

In the alpine area at Strandafjellet, there are six Ski tows and alpine pistes. Each winter alpine competitions are hosted there. Strandafjellet is one of the few places in the world where one could actually ski from the top of a mountain and go the whole way down, to the fjord. Every year roughly 250 telemark skiers come together in the race Alperittet, from 1,230 metres (4,040 ft) above sea level and down to the fjord. The Geiranger – From Fjord to Summit race runs from Geiranger to Dalsnibba each year.

In Hellesylt, one may visit Hægstad Gård which contains woodcarvings, scenes from Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, and in Geiranger the new Norwegian Fjord Centre shows local history and pictures from Geiranger.

The municipality of Stranda has a great variety as to trade and industry. About 160 farms produce milk and meat products. Many factories have long traditions for making meat products, especially salted and cured meat. Also the making of furniture and textile products is an important industry that gives good work to many persons. Stranda is the place where P.I. Langlo industrialized the furniture industry in Norway in 1919.[27] (There is almost no unemployment in the area). The Grandiosa factory, Norway's biggest pizza-producing factory is situated in Stranda. There are also much aquafarming and many fish processing factories in the municipality. Tourism is, of course, a very important business in the whole district.

• Released in March 2016, "The Wave (Bølgen)" is a Norwegian disaster movie based on the premise of a rock slide from the mountain Åkerneset inundating the town of Geiranger.[28]

• Asbjørn Gjærde (born 1939), journalist
• Arve Henriksen (born 1968), musician
• Are Kalvø (born 1969), writer and comedian
• Kristian Langlo (1894–1976), Norwegian politician
• P.I. Langlo (1892–1940), pioneered the industrial manufacturing of furniture in Norway
• Olav Berntsen Oksvik (1887–1958), social democratic politician
• Margreth Olin, film director
• Peter Opsvik (born 1939), famous furniture designer and Jazz saxophonist
• Bjarne Solbakken, alpine skier
• Pål Øie, film director
• Kjell A. Storeide, businessman
• Sophie Sjåstad Vågsæter, known for an affair with Manchester United football player Antonio Valencia

• Norwegian Colony, a Norwegian community in California established by families from Stranda.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• West Norwegian Fjords UNESCO World Heritage Site (in Norwegian)
• Storfjordens Venner (in Norwegian)
• Strandafjellet downhill skiing
• Visit Geiranger
• Norwegian Fjord Centre
• Destinasjon Geirangerfjord – Trollstigen
• Local information and news (in Norwegian)
• Sunnmøringen local newspaper (in Norwegian)
• Map