Bodø
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bodø kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Salten | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1804 | ||
| Administrative centre | Bodø | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2005) | Odd-Tore Fygle (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 62 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 1,392 km² (537.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 1,308 km² (505 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 46,049 | ||
| - Density | 49/km² (126.9/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 10.9 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 14 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål | ||
| Demonym | Bodøværing[1] | ||
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| Website: www.bodo.kommune.no | |||
Bodø is a city and municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway.
The city of Bodø was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Bodin was merged with Bodø January 1, 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø January 1, 2005. Bodø, located just north of the Arctic Circle, is the largest city in Nordland, and the second largest in North Norway.
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[edit] History
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 27th of May 1940. 6000 people were living in Bodø, and 3500 people lost their homes in the attack. 15 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.
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.
[edit] Toponymy
The municipality is named after the old farm Bodøgård (Norse Boðvin), since the town was built on its ground.[citation needed] The first element might be boði m 'sunken rock, skerry', the last element is vin f 'meadow, pasture'.[citation needed] The last element was later misunderstood as øy f 'island' (and written with the Danish form ø).[citation needed]
See also Bodin
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1959. It shows the Sun, a representation of the midnight sun.
[edit] Geography
The city lies just north of the Arctic Circle where the midnight sun is visible from June 2 to July 10. 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; May averages 218 and August 167, while March gets 114, October 54 and December only 0.4 (source: met.no, 1961-90).
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 (20 mi.) east of Bodø.
Located on an unsheltered peninsula in the Norwegian Sea, Bodø is one of Norway's most windy cities. Snow cover during winter is usually sparse, not only due to the wind, but also an effect of a mild winter climate relative to latitude with periods of rain being common in winter. Average temperature for January is -2.2 °C, while July 24-hr average is 12.5 °C, annual mean temperature is 4.5 °C and average annual precipitation is 1020 mm. The driest months are April to June, with on average 50 mm rain each month, and the wettest is September to December with on average 120 mm each month[2]. 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; January average in Bodø (11 m) based on the 17-year period 1991 - 2007 is -0.3 °C, with average daily high temperature of 2.0 °C (35 °F). July average for the same 17 years is 13.5 °C, with average daily high 16.6 °C (62 °F) (source: eklima at met.no).
[edit] Nature and hiking
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 ([1]), Skånland with coastal pine forest ([2]) and Bliksvær nature reserve with well preserved coastal nature of many types and a rich bird life, making it a Ramsar - site as well ([3]).
[edit] Institutions and economy
Bodø University College is located 10 km outside the city centre. 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students study at BUC.[3] The college is one of the leading academic environments among fisheries in Norway.[citation needed] 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 headquarter for North Norway is located at Reitan, east of the city. SB Nordlandsbuss has its headquarter in Bodø, as does Bodø Energi.
[edit] Military
Bodø has a long history with the Norwegian armed forces, and especially the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Bodø is the home to a NATO installation, CAOC3, and air forces regularly exercise during winter months. It is also the home of Bodø Air Force Base, a major Norwegian military air base, which today is a candidate for The Northern Air Base in the new RNoAF system, and Bodin Leir, an RNoAF recruit school including NASAMS personnel and a national response unit.
[edit] Culture
Bodø's local newspaper is the Avisa Nordland. The local football club, FK Bodø/Glimt, plays in the Norwegian Premier League as of 2008.[4]
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. 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 Musikkfestuke and Parkenfestivalen every summer, as well as the free and volunteer based Bodø Hardcore Festival in early winter.
[edit] Notable residents
- Halvdan Sivertsen
- Vebjørn Tandberg
- Harald Berg
- Geir Lundestad
- Runar Berg
- Ørjan Berg
- Mini Jakobsen
- Stig Johansen
[edit] References
- ^ Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg (Norwegian)
- ^ met.no: Bodø climate
- ^ Current students. Bodø University College. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
- ^ Adeccoligaen (Norges Fotballforbund) (Norwegian). Norges Fotballforbund (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
[edit] External links
- Municipality website (Norwegian only)
- Bodø travel guide from Wikitravel
- Bodø Airport
- The National Aviation Museum
- Salten Museum
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