Country Norway District Vesterålen Area rank 304 in Norway Area 247.2 km² Local time Thursday 7:24 PM | County Nordland Administrative centre Straume Demonym(s) Bøfjerding Population 2,720 (2012) Official language form Norwegian Language | |
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Weather 1°C, Wind NE at 14 km/h, 59% Humidity Points of interest Steinestranda, Skiftesanden, Fjærvollsanden | ||
Bø is a village and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straume. Other villages in the municipality include Bø, Eidet, Hovden, Nykvåg, and Utskor. The Litløy Lighthouse is located on the tiny island of Litløya off the coast of Bø.
Contents
- Map of BC3B8 Norway
- General information
- Name
- Coat of arms
- Churches
- Population
- Government
- Municipal council
- Geography
- References
Map of B%C3%B8, Norway
The village of Bø is located on the southern coast of the municipality. It is made up of several populated areas such as Steine and Vinje. Bø Church is located in the eastern part of this village. The 1.41-square-kilometre (350-acre) village of Bø has a population (2011) of 726, giving the village a population density of 515 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,330/sq mi).
General information
The municipality of Bø was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 January 1866, a small area of Øksnes (population: 40) was transferred to Bø. On 1 January 1964, the Kråkberget village and the peninsula north of Kråkberget (population: 271) was transferred from Øksnes to Bø.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bø farm (Old Norse: Bœr), since the first church (Bø Church) was built there. The name is identical with the word bœr which means "farm" and it is a cognate with the Dutch language word "boer" which means "farmer".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 7 August 1987. The arms show a silver "half boat" on a black background. This was chosen to represent the importance of fishing in Bø, but also reminiscent of some old legends/fairy tales in the region that include a "half boat". (The seaghost draugr travelled in a half boat.)
Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Bø. It is part of the Vesterålen deanery in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Population
The municipality has sustained a steady decline in population since the 1950s when 6,122 people lived in Bø. The 2001 census showed that the population had declined to 3,156, while the fourth quarter population estimate for 2007 showed the population at 2866. The bureau of statistics projects a continued population decline.
The municipality has 73 gårdsnummer in the cadastre. The largest and densest population center is the Vinje, Skagen, and Steine area in the southwestern part of the municipality, which is designated as the village ("tettsted") of "Bø" by the bureau of statistics.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Bø, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bø is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:
Geography
The municipality of Bø lies on the island of Langøya and many small surrounding islets including Litløya and Gaukværøy. There is one road that connects Bø to the rest of Norway via the 1,612-metre (5,289 ft) long Ryggedal Tunnel, connecting Bø to Øksnes and Sortland.