The
parish of
Vanelven was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt law). The spelling was later changed to Vanylven. On 1 February 1918, the area around the
Syvdsfjorden (population: 1,260) was separated to become the new
Syvde Municipality. This left Vanylven Municipality with 1,848 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the
Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964,
Syvde Municipality (population: 1,458) and the
Rovdestranda area (population: 436) of
Rovde Municipality were both merged into Vanylven Municipality, giving Vanylven a new population of 3,897.
Name The municipality (originally the
parish) is named after the
Vanylvsfjorden (). The meaning of the first element is uncertain, but it may come from the word which means "fishing line" or which mean "dark" or "colorless", referring to the occurrence of
olivine in the area. The last element is which is frequently used in the
Sunnmøre area in the names of
fjords. It possibly comes from the word which means "low, wet terrain". Historically, the name was written
Vanelven. In 1889, the spelling was changed to
Vannelven. On 3 November 1917, a
royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to
Vanylven.
Coat of arms The
coat of arms was granted on 11 December 1987. The official
blazon is
"Vert, a pile embowed argent" (). This means the arms have a green
field (background) and the
charge is a
pile embowed (a triangle with curved sides). The charge has a
tincture of
argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms are meant to show how the
Vanylvsfjorden meets the sea, surrounded by the fertile green lands of Vanylven. The fertile lands and the sea which is full of
herring are both important industries to the municipality which is why the colors green (land) and silver (sea) were chosen for the arms. The arms were designed by Jostein O. Mo. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The
Church of Norway has four parishes () within Vanylven Municipality. It is part of the
Søre Sunnmøre prosti (
deanery) in the
Diocese of Møre. ==Geography==