Volda - the student town

Volda – a centre of education for over 150 years

Volda is a municipality in Sunnmøre in the county of Møre og Romsdal. It borders on Ørsta to the north, on Hornindal and Eid to the south and in the west to Vanylven. West of the opening of the Voldsfjord lie the municipalities of Herøy and Ulstein, which you can reach by driving through the undersea Eiksund tunnel. The municipality had roughly 9000 inhabitants, of whom over 6000 live in the municipal centre Volda, while the remainder dwell in surrounding villages and hamlets.

The centre of Volda developed from a tiny hamlet on the shores of the fjord round the farm called Halkjelsvik. Until 1883 Ørsta was part of Volda, then becoming a separate municipality. Towards the end of the 19th century a number of key functions in society were located in Volda, and much of the honour for the growth of Volda belongs to its schools. It is well known as a centre of education and as early as 1861 a teacher training college was founded in this small rural community. Volda was also chosen as the site for one of the frst three district colleges (DH) to be established in Norway. In 1994 the TT college and the DH were merged to form Volda University College.

In addition to the university college, Volda's main public employer is the local hospital. The small town is strongly connected with the high-tech industry and the marine and maritime cluster in the region. Volda is also well known for its cultural and sporting activities, as well as the wonderful fjords and mountains surrounding it.