Molde is the administrative centre and episcopal residence of the county of Møre og Romsdal, in addition to being an active educational, trading and touristic city.
The area to the north of Molde, Moldemarka, has several marked hiking trails and skiing tracks. This area is an important source of recreation to the inhabitants and visitors of the city. Less than 10 minutes away by car from the city centre, you will find Tusten Alpine Centre and the 9-hole course of Molde Golf Club.
From the Varden viewpoint (407 metres above sea level) there is a good view of the city of Molde, the fjord, islands and the famous Molde Panorama with its 222 partially snow-clad peaks.
Business life in Molde and Romsdal is comprehensive and diversified. There are a multitude of big workplaces and producers in the region: Moxy Tucks in Fræna produces dump trucks, IP Huse in Sandøy produces big cranes for ships, Wonderland Åndalsnes produces exclusive mattresses, Glamox specialises in lighting, Hydralift Molde Crane produces large, advanced cranes for oil platforms and other businesses and Brunvoll Trusthers factory, which supplies propellers for a worldwide market. Long-established Oskar Sylte mineral water factory is still standing firmly on local ground, and Sylte's pineapple soda has no matching competition.
History
Molde achieved official town status in 1742. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the city's main industries were boat building, factory-made clothing business, trade and tourism. The city fire in 1916 and extensive bombing during World War II caused the destruction of the old, idyllic wooden buildings. That explains the prevalence of simple, clean-cut and functional post-war architecture in some parts of the town.
Climate
The weather can in very short time change. To be sure, bring clothes that fit both warm and cold days. The summer temperature varies between 10°C and 30°C. The winters are mild at the coast, but in the eastern part of the region it can be pretty cold with a lot of snow. Lesja/Bjorli is renowned for its long winters and snow.
Åndalsnes and Trollstigen – a wonderful mountain kingdom
In the 1860s the road down the Romsdalen Valley was completed as far as the farms Åndal and Nes, leading to the emergence of the new tourist destination of Åndalsnes and the birth of a new community. The tourist ships chose to call at Åndalsnes, and during the 1880s it emerged as the big tourist destination in Romsdal.
Today, Åndalsnes has achieved official town status, and as the end station of the Rauma Railway, which was opened in 1924, it is an important hub of communications. Unfortunately a lot of the original township was destroyed by extensive bombing during World War II. Åndalsnes now appears as a modern town between the beautiful Romsdal Alps.