Bodø

Bodø kommune
—  Municipality  —

Coat of arms
Nordland within
Norway
Bodø within Nordland
Coordinates:
Country Norway
County Nordland
District Salten
Administrative centre Bodø
Government
 - Mayor (2005) Odd-Tore Fygle (Ap)
Area
 - Total 1,392 km2 (537.5 sq mi)
 - Land 1,308 km2 (505 sq mi)
Area rank 62 in Norway
Population (2007)
 - Total 46,049
 - Rank 14 in Norway
 - Density 49/km2 (126.9/sq mi)
 - Change (10 years) 10.9 %
Demonym Bodøværing[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1804
Official language form Bokmål
Website bodo.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Bodø is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.

The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005. Bodø, located just north of the Arctic Circle, is the largest city in Nordland county, and the second largest in North Norway.

Contents

History

Bodø harbor 1880
Nyholms Skandse, Bodø

Bodø was granted township status in 1816 and is now county capital of Nordland. Most of Bodø was destroyed during a Luftwaffe attack on the 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 (2 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.

Bodø received international attention during the U-2 Crisis in May 1960, when it became known that the American U-2 pilot Gary Powers had been shot down over the Soviet Union on his way from Pakistan to Bodø.

Toponymy

The municipality is named after the old Bodøgård farm (Old Norse: Boðvin), since the town was built on its ground. The first element might be boði which means "sunken rock" or "skerry" and the last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture". The last element was later misunderstood as øy which means "island" (and written with the Danish language form ø).

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 24 July 1959. The arms show the sun as a representation of the midnight sun.[2]

Geography

Landegode island is part of the municipality; February 2005

The city lies just north of the Arctic Circle where the midnight sun is visible from 2 June to 10 July. Due to atmospheric refraction, there is no true polar night in Bodø, but because of the mountains south of Bodø, the sun is not visible from the city from early December to early January. Average number of sunhours in Bodø is highest in June with 221 hours.[3]

Bodø port after midnight

As the northern terminus of Nordlandsbanen, Bodø is the northern end of the railroad network of Norway. However, travellers going further north will often switch to a corresponding bus in Fauske bound for Narvik. There is also a railway from Narvik to Kiruna in Sweden, and further into the Swedish rail network. The railway station opened in 1961. Bodø Airport lies two km outside the city centre and was opened in 1952. The airport served 1,308,000 passengers in 2004. Ferries run between Bodø and the Lofoten Islands.

The strongest tidal current in the world is Saltstraumen, situated some 30 km (19 mi) east of Bodø. Kjerringøy is a well preserved old trading village on the coast 40 km (25 mi) north of Bodø. With its scenic setting and authentic buildings, several movies have been shot at this little port, including Benoni og Rosa (based on Knut Hamsun's novel), I am Dina and Telegrafisten.

Climate

Located on an unsheltered peninsula in the Norwegian Sea, Bodø is one of Norway's windiest cities. Despite its location just north of the Arctic Circle, Bodø amazingly features a subpolar oceanic climate, with chilly (but not cold) winters and cool summers. Snow cover during winter is usually sparse, not only due to the wind, but also an effect of a mild winter climate relative to its latitude with periods of rain being common in winter. Mean annual temperature is 4.5 °C and average annual precipitation is 1020 mm (1961–90). The driest months are April - June.[4]. The coldest month on record was February 1966 with a mean of -8.9 °C, and the warmest was July 1937 with a mean of 17.1 °C. Recent years have tended to be warmer.

Climate data for Bodø (10 last years)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 1
(34)		 0
(32)		 1
(34)		 5
(41)		 9
(48)		 13
(55)		 16
(61)		 15
(59)		 12
(54)		 7
(45)		 4
(39)		 2
(36)		 7.1
(44.8)
Average low °C (°F) -2
(28)		 -3
(27)		 -2
(28)		 2
(36)		 6
(43)		 9
(48)		 12
(54)		 11
(52)		 8
(46)		 4
(39)		 1
(34)		 -1
(30)		 3.8
(38.8)
Precipitation mm (inches) 86
(3.39)		 64
(2.52)		 68
(2.68)		 52
(2.05)		 46
(1.81)		 54
(2.13)		 92
(3.62)		 88
(3.46)		 123
(4.84)		 147
(5.79)		 100
(3.94)		 100
(3.94)		 1,020
(40.16)
Sunshine hours 8.1 43.0 114.0 158.7 218.8 220.7 172.0 166.5 98.4 54.3 16.3 0.4 1,271.2
Source: [5]

Nature

Besides Saltstraumen, the municipality of Bodø has lots of wilderness to offer hikers. 10 kilometers north of Bodø lies the popular recreation area Geitvågen. The area is inhabited by a large number of White-tailed Eagles. There are 17 nature reserves in the municipality. Sundstraumlian nature reserve has undisturbed mixed forest with marble bedrock,[6] Skånland with coastal pine forest,[7], Børvatnet protecting a birch forest with many orchids [8] and Bliksvær nature reserve with well preserved coastal nature of many types and a rich bird life, making it a Ramsar site as well.[9]

Nordlandssykehuset is the main county hospital

Institutions

Bodø University College. Photo:Lars Røed Hansen

Bodø University College is located 10 km outside the city centre. Five thousand undergraduate and graduate students study at BUC.[10] The college is one of the leading academic environments among fisheries in Norway.

Bodø is the location of the only police academy in Norway outside Oslo. The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority is situated in Bodø, as is the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre for the northern half of Norway. The Norwegian Armed Forces headquarters for North Norway is located at Reitan, east of the city. SB Nordlandsbuss has its headquarter in Bodø, as does Bodø Energi and Nordlandsbanken.

Military

A RNLAF F-5A at Bodø, March 1982.

Bodø has a long history with the Norwegian Armed Forces, and especially the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). The Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Operational Headquarters are located at Reitan, east of Bodø. Parts of NATO air forces attending the annual Cold Response are stationed at Bodø Main Air Station. Bodø MAS is a major Norwegian military air base, housing two thirds of Norways F-16 fighter force and two of RNoAFs SAR Sea Kings. Bodø, competing with Ørland and Evenes, is a candidate for the Northern Air Base in the new RNoAF system. Bodin Leir located near the air station is an RNoAF recruit school including Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System personnel and a national response unit. The base was central during the Cold War due to its strategic location and proximity to the Soviet Union. It would have been vital in the build-up of NATO air and land forces to defend Norway, and thus the entire Northern flank of NATO, in a war with the Warsaw Pact. It could also have been used as a forward base for American bombers to strike targets in the Soviet Union.

Bodø has a street named General Fleischers Gate in honour of Carl Gustav Fleischer.

Culture

Bodø's local newspaper is the Avisa Nordland. The local football club, FK Bodø/Glimt, plays in the Norwegian First Division as of 2009.[11]

The Norwegian Aviation Museum and Salten Museum are located in Bodø. Salten Museum has four exhibitions: The Lofoten Fisheries, a Sami exhibit, a Viking treasure, and an exhibition about Bodø's history from 1816 to 2000.

Norwegian Aviation Museum

The Bodø Cathedral was built in 1956, representing post-war architecture, whereas the Bodin Church just outside the city centre dates from the 13th century, representing a typical medieval stone church.

Bodø is host to the cultural festivals Nordland Musikfestuke and Parkenfestivalen every summer, as well as the free and volunteer based Bodø Hardcore Festival in early winter.

Economy

Bodø is a communications centre. The airport (upper left), the harbour (upper right) and the railway station (lower right) are all within walking distance of each other.
Børvatnet (lake), with a nature reserve along its shores. Bodø municipality covers large areas outside the town itself

The airline Widerøe has its head office in Bodø.[12]

See also

References

Breivik, a village on the southern shore of Skjerstadfjorden, Bodø municipality
  1. ↑ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn. 
  2. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/b/bodo.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  3. ↑ "Soltimer/Soltid". Met.no. http://retro.met.no/met/met_lex/q_u/Soltid.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-19.  (Norwegian)
  4. ↑ met.no "Bodø climate statistics". http://met.no/observasjoner/nordland/normaler_for_kommune_1804.html?kommuner met.no.  (Norwegian)
  5. ↑ "Bodø average conditions; base period 10 last years, sunhours provided by met.no". Storm Weather Center. http://www.storm.no/vaer/bodø/klima. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
  6. ↑ "Sundstraumlian naturreserva". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1687#4554. Retrieved 2008-11-19.  (Norwegian)
  7. ↑ "Skånland naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1655#4522. Retrieved 2008-11-19.  (Norwegian)
  8. ↑ http://nordland.miljostatus.no/dm_documents/informasjonsplakat_B%C3%B8rvatnet_HunG2.pdf
  9. ↑ "Bliksvær naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=3567#19895. Retrieved 2008-11-19.  (Norwegian)
  10. ↑ "Current students". Bodø University College. http://www.hibo.no/index.php?ID=12486&lang=eng. Retrieved 2007-09-24. 
  11. ↑ "Adeccoligaen (Norges Fotballforbund)". Norges Fotballforbund. 2007. http://www.fotball.no/t2.aspx?p=53186&cat=51834. Retrieved 2007-08-16.  (Norwegian)
  12. ↑ "Headquarters." Widerøe. Retrieved on 15 November 2009.

External links

Municipalities of Nordland
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 Nordland
40 most populous urban settlements (cities) of Norway
as of 2009, according to Statistics Norway [1]
1. Oslo 876,400
2. Bergen 227,800
3. Stavanger / Sandnes 189,800
4. Trondheim 157,100
5. Fredrikstad / S'borg1 101,700
6. Drammen 96,600
7. Skien / Porsgrunn 86,900
8. Kristiansand 67,500
9. Tromsø 55,100
10. Tønsberg 47,500
11. Ålesund 46,500
12. Haugesund 42,900
13. Moss 41,700
14. Sandefjord 40,800
15. Bodø 36,500
16. Arendal 32,400
17. Hamar 30,000
18. Larvik 23,900
19. Halden 23,000
20. Lillehammer 20,100
21. Harstad 19,500
22. Molde 19,400
23. Kongsberg 18,800
24. Gjøvik 18,700
25. Askøy 18,300
26. Horten 18,200
27. Mo i Rana 17,900
28. Kristiansund 17,000
29. Jessheim 15,300
30. Hønefoss 14,300
31. Narvik 13,900
32. Alta 13,600
33. Elverum 13,500
34. Askim 13,100
35. Ski 12,900
36. Drøbak 12,400
37. Nesoddtangen 11,600
38. Steinkjer 11,500
39. Leirvik 11,400
40. Vennesla 11,400
41. Kongsvinger 11,400
42. Stjørdalshalsen 10,800
1 Sarpsborg.