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 (on Vigra island) and Alnes and Leitebakk (both on Godøy island). The municipality is part of the Ålesund Region.

The municipality of Giske was established on 1 January 1908 when it was separated from the large municipality of Borgund. The initial population of the new municipality was 1,708. Then on 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipality of Vigra was merged into Giske. The newly enlarged municipality had a population of 4,644.

The municipality is named after the farm and island Giske (Old Norse: Gizki), since the first church was built there. The name is (probably) identical with the word gizki which means "tablecloth" or "rag" (maybe because the island is small and flat).