Molde

Molde (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈmɔ̂ɫdə] ) is a town, an Urban Area, and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. Molde has a maritime, temperate climate, with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters. It is nicknamed The Town of Roses. The settlement emerged as a shipping port for lumber to the Netherlands in the late 1500s. Formal trading rights were granted at some point before 1604, and the town was incorporated through a royal charter in 1742. Bolsøy Municipality, which later merged with Molde town, was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The town continued to grow throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, becoming a centre for the Norwegian textile and garment industry, as well as the administrative centre for the region, and was a major tourist destination until World War I. After World War II, Molde experienced accelerated growth, merging with Bolsøy Municipality and parts of Veøy Municipality and Nord-Aukra Municipality on 1 January 1964, making the municipality much larger than the urban area of the town of Molde. On 1 January 2020, the municipality was expanded again through the incorporation of the neighboring Midsund Municipality and Nesset Municipality, making the area of the municipality quite large in comparison to the town. The town has a population of 22,410 (2024) and a population density of 2,364 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,120/sq mi).