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Bodø is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland county). Some of the notable villages in Bodø include Misvær, Skjerstad, Saltstraumen, Løding, Løpsmarka, Kjerringøy, Sørvær, and Fenes. The municipality of Bodø is located just north of the Arctic Circle and the town of Bodø is the largest urban area and town in Nordland county, and the second largest town in North Norway. The municipality is the 66th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bodø is the 19th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 52,357. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 10.7% over the previous 10-year period. Bodø was named one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2024. It is also home to football club Bodø/Glimt, the northernmost club to win a European league competition.
[edit] History
The village of Bodø was granted township status in 1816 and soon after, in 1818, it was known for the Bodø affair, smuggling by British merchants that later were compensated by Norway. The town of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 January 1938, a part of the neighboring municipality of Bodin (population: 559) was transferred into the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1959, another part of Bodin (population: 1,303) was transferred into Bodø. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1968, the town of Bodø (population: 14,252) was merged with the municipality of Bodin (population: 13,323) and this created the much larger Bodø Municipality. On 1 January 1984, the Tårnvika and Øygården areas (population: 22) northeast of the village of Kjerringøy in Sørfold Municipality was transferred to Bodø. On 1 January 2005, the entire municipality of Skjerstad was merged into the municipality of Bodø. [edit] World War IIMost of the town of Bodø was destroyed during a Luftwaffe attack on 27 May 1940. Six thousand people were living in Bodø, and 3500 people lost their homes in the attack. Fifteen people lost their lives during the air attack (two British soldiers and 13 Norwegians). Due to the acute lack of housing, the Swedish Government helped build 107 apartments in the winter of 1941. These houses were built tightly together just outside the town. This small area, today in the heart of Bodø, is still called Svenskebyen ("the Swedish Town"). The town was subsequently rebuilt after the war. The rebuilding ended in 1959 with the completion of the new town hall. German shipping in and around Bodø was attacked in October 1943 in Operation Leader.[1] Off Bodø the submarine HMS Syrtis was lost on or around 28 March 1944 with all hands. Her location is currently unknown. [edit] ToponymyThe municipality is named after the old Bodøgård farm, since the town was built on its ground. The first element might be which means "sunken rock" or "skerry" and the last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". The last element may have been misunderstood as which means "island" (and written with the Danish language form ).
[edit] Coat of armsThe coat of arms was granted on 24 July 1959. The arms show a yellow sun on a red background. The arms are a representation of the midnight sun and they are a simplified version of the old arms from 1889 which showed a sun above a boat with mountains in the background. [edit] Research Tips
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