Bø, Telemark
| Bø kommune | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality | |||
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 | |||
| Coordinates: 59°27′26″N 9°1′53″E / 59.45722°N 9.03139°ECoordinates: 59°27′26″N 9°1′53″E / 59.45722°N 9.03139°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Telemark | ||
| District | Midt-Telemark | ||
| Administrative centre | Bø i Telemark | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2003) | Arne Storhaug (Ap) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 263 km2 (102 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 258 km2 (100 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 292 in Norway | ||
| Population (1.1.2010) | |||
| • Total | 5,595 | ||
| • Rank | 188 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 20/km2 (50/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | 8.5 % | ||
| Demonym | Bøhering[1] | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-0821 | ||
| Official language form | Nynorsk | ||
| Website | www.bo.kommune.no | ||
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Bø is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Midt-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bø i Telemark. The municipality of Bø was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Lunde was separated from Bø in 1867 to become a separate municipality.
Bø is well known for its folk traditions and for being home to one of the four branches of Telemark University College (Høgskolen i Telemark). Bø has several times been called "the most beautiful place on earth" in modern literature, among others in Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's story, En glad Gut ("A Happy Boy").
In 1923 the county of Telemark decided to start a secondary school in Bø, the equivalent of today's middle school or "ungdomsskole", called Telemark Realskole. At this time secondary schools mostly existed in the larger towns and cities, and most youngsters ended their schooling after 7 years. It was the county's intention to expand this school to a high school as soon as practically possible. This happened in 1947, and the school's name was Telemark Offentlige Landsgymnas. The existence of this school made it possible to establish Distriktshøgskulen i Telemark in Bø, and from there expand the educational opportunities in Bø.
General information
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bø farm (Old Norse: Bœr), since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word bœr which means "homestead" or "farm".[2]
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were adopted on 19 February 1988. The arms show three gold-colored fiddles on a red background. Bø is historically known for its musical tradition, as well as the production of fiddles (similar to the hardingfele). The fiddle was thus chosen as an appropriate symbol for the municipality.[3][4]Attractions
Bø is famous for its waterpark Sommarland (the largest of its kind in Norway). Another popular sight in Bø is the Gygrestol rock formation. There is also Kroa i Bø, one of the oldest and most respected music scenes in Norway. The club won the award for "Concert promoter of the Year 2005" and is based on voluntary work from students of the Telemark University College.
Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Bø:[5]
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Bengtsfors, Västra Götaland County, Sweden -
Puumala, Eastern Finland, Finland
References
- ↑ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
- ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1914). Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt (Dokumentasjonsprosjektet) (7 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 197. (Norwegian)
- ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ↑ "Kommunevåpen og ordførarkjede". Bø kommune. Retrieved 2009-01-17. (Norwegian)
- ↑ "Vennskapskommunar". Bø kommune. Retrieved 2009-01-17. (Norwegian)
External links
Media related to Bø at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of Bø at Wiktionary- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
Telemark travel guide from Wikivoyage- Bø Sommarland waterpark (Norwegian)
- Kroa i Bø music venue
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