Sunnmøre is the southernmost traditional district

Districts of Norway

The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...

 of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal

Møre og Romsdal

is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...

. Its main city is Ålesund

Ålesund

is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....

. The region comprises the municipalities

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

  of Giske

Giske

Giske is an island and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It lies north-northwest of the town of Ålesund in the Sunnmøre traditional district. The municipal center is the village of Nordstrand on the island of Valderøy. Other population centers include the villages of Roald and...

, Hareid

Hareid

Hareid is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Hareid...

, Herøy

Herøy, Møre og Romsdal

Herøy is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the town of Fosnavåg on the island of Bergsøya. The industrial area of Eggesbønes is located south of Fosnavåg on the same island...

, Norddal

Norddal

Norddal is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It covers the easternmost part of the Sunnmøre region along the border with Oppland county...

, Sande

Sande, Møre og Romsdal

Sande is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Larsnes on the island of Gurskøya.-General information:...

, Skodje

Skodje

Skodje is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is of the municipality is the village of Skodje...

, Haram

Haram, Norway

Haram is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative center is Brattvåg, the industrial center of Sunnmøre. Other important villages in the municipality include Austnes, Eidsvik, Helle, Longva, Søvik, Tennfjord, and Vatne.Brattvåg IL is...

, Stordal

Stordal

Stordal is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stordal. The historic farm of Ytste Skotet lies along the Storfjord in the western part of the municipality.-General information:Stordal...

, Stranda

Stranda

Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda....

, Sula

Sula, Norway

is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Langevåg. Other villages include Solevåg, Fiskarstrand, Veibust, Leirvågen, and Mauseidvågen. Sula is one of the most densely populated municipalities of Møre og...

, Sykkylven

Sykkylven

Sykkylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages include Ikornnes, Straumgjerde, and Tusvik.-General information:...

, Ulstein

Ulstein

Ulstein is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is Ulsteinvik, population 5,251 . The municipality occupies the western half of the island of Hareidlandet, as well as about 30 or more smaller...

, Vanylven

Vanylven

Vanylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is Fiskåbygd. Other villages include Syvde, Rovdane, and Myklebost.-General information:...

, Volda

Volda

Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. The municipality is located about south of the city of Ålesund.-General information:...

, Ørskog

Ørskog

Ørskog is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Sjøholt. European Route E39 and European Route E136 runs through the municipality, connecting the towns of Ålesund and Molde.-General information:Ørskog was...

, Ørsta

Ørsta

is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta...

, and Ålesund

Ålesund

is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....

.

Though it is one of the three traditional districts in Møre og Romsdal, Sunnmøre is home to more than half the population of the county—with 130,601 of the 247,313 residents (53%). The district is made up of mainland as well as several large islands such as Gurskøy

Gurskøy

Gurskøy is an island in the municipalities of Sande and Herøy in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island has an area of . The villages of Gursken, Larsnes, and Moldtustranda are located on the island...

 and Hareidlandet

Hareidlandet

Hareidlandet is an island in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Hareid and Ulstein. The island has a population of 11,687. The island is mentioned by Snorri in his reports about the Battle of Hjörungavágr in 986 where Haakon Jarl defeated Bue Digre and the...

, plus many small islands.

In the early Viking Age

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

, before Harald Fairhair, Sunnmøre was a petty kingdom

Petty kingdom

A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...

.

While Sunnmøre has no formal administration, many national organizations chose to have separate divisions for Sunnmøre. For example, the Football Association of Norway

Football Association of Norway

The Football Association of Norway is the governing body of football in Norway. Current FIFA World Champions It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the Norwegian Premier League.The team are enjoying their best ever spell thanks to World Player of the...

 has a separate Regional Association for Sunnmøre, separate from Nordmøre and Romsdal. This is also true for the national police

Norwegian Police Service

The Norwegian Police Service is the official police force in Norway which are run by the Minister of Justice and Police. The department consists of 27 regional areas and seven national special forces. The department has about 11,000 employees....

.

All municipalities in Sunnmøre have adopted Nynorsk

Nynorsk

Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...

 as their form of the Norwegian language, with the exception of Ålesund

Ålesund

is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....

 municipality, which has declared itself to be "neutral", though almost all of the education in Ålesund is conducted using Bokmål

Bokmål

Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....

.

There are many local newspapers throughout Sunnmøre, as well as one that aims to cover the entire region, published from Ålesund, called Sunnmørsposten

Sunnmørsposten

Sunnmørsposten is a newspaper published by Mecom Group in Ålesund, Norway. Published in compact format six days a week, it consists of two sections; one for local news, sports and classified ads, and one for culture, weather, opinions and editorials and obituaries...

.

Urban areas

The major centres (by urban population–2009) of Sunnmøre are:

Rank	Community	Kommune/Kommunar	Population (2009)
1	Ålesund Ålesund is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....	Ålesund Ålesund is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture.... , Sula	46,471
2	Ørsta Ørsta is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta...	Ørsta Ørsta is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta...	6,495
3	Volda Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. The municipality is located about south of the city of Ålesund.-General information:...	Volda Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. The municipality is located about south of the city of Ålesund.-General information:...	5,739
4	Ulsteinvik Ulsteinvik is the commercial and administrative centre of the municipality of Ulstein in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The urban area of Ulsteinvik has a population of 5,251 people. As such, Ulsteinvik contains 74% of the population of the municipality of Ulstein...	Ulstein Ulstein Ulstein is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is Ulsteinvik, population 5,251 . The municipality occupies the western half of the island of Hareidlandet, as well as about 30 or more smaller...	5,251
5	Sykkylven Sykkylven Sykkylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages include Ikornnes, Straumgjerde, and Tusvik.-General information:...	Sykkylven Sykkylven Sykkylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages include Ikornnes, Straumgjerde, and Tusvik.-General information:...	4,083
6	Hareid Hareid Hareid is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Hareid...	Hareid Hareid Hareid is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Hareid...	3,773
7	Fosnavåg Fosnavåg is a city in the municipality of Herøy in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is the administrative center of the municipality of Herøy. The city is located on the island of Bergsøya which is connected to Kvalsund on the island of Nerlandsøya via the Nerlandsøy Bridge to the west... /Leinstrand	Herøy Herøy, Møre og Romsdal Herøy is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the town of Fosnavåg on the island of Bergsøya. The industrial area of Eggesbønes is located south of Fosnavåg on the same island...	3,521
8	Nordstrand	Giske Giske Giske is an island and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It lies north-northwest of the town of Ålesund in the Sunnmøre traditional district. The municipal center is the village of Nordstrand on the island of Valderøy. Other population centers include the villages of Roald and...	3,214
9	Stranda Stranda Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda....	Stranda Stranda Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda....	2,500
10	Brattvåg Brattvåg Brattvåg is a village and the administrative centre of the municipality of Haram in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the Norwegian mainland, along the west side of the Samfjorden. It is northwest of Vatne/Eidsvik...	Haram Haram, Norway Haram is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative center is Brattvåg, the industrial center of Sunnmøre. Other important villages in the municipality include Austnes, Eidsvik, Helle, Longva, Søvik, Tennfjord, and Vatne.Brattvåg IL is...	2,181