Bodin is a parish and former municipality in Nordland county, Norway.
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Bodin (until 1896 named Bodø herred) was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Some smaller parts of the municipality were transferred to the town of Bodø January 1, 1901 and July 1, 1938. The majority of the municipality Kjerringøy, as well as a small part of Sørfold, were merged into Bodin January 1, 1964. Bodin ceased to exist as a separate entity when it was merged into Bodø city January 1, 1968. At that point Bodin had a population of 13 323, Bodø had 14,252.
Until 1896 the name of the municipality was Bodø herred 'the rural district/herred of Bodø'. The town of Bodø is named after the old farm Bodøgård 'the farm/gård of Bodø'. The Norse form of the farm's name was Boðin (*Boðvin), and the municipality (originally the parish) was named after it because the first church was built on its ground. The meaning of the first element is, maybe, boði m 'skerry' - the last element is vin 'meadow, pasture'. The old Norse form was revived in 1896 as the name of the rural municipality.
Bodin Church (Bodin kirke) was built around 1240 and was extended in 1785 with a transept. In 1894, the entire section of the medieval church was torn down and rebuilt in the same style. The church has a stone altar from the 1300s and some wooden sculptures from the late 1400s - early 1500s. The church is characterized today by the interior from 1600 - and 1700s. The altarpiece is from 1670, the pulpit from the 1600s with paintings from 1754 by Gottfried Ezechiel. The chandeliers date from 1760s. [2]