Bø, Nordland


Bø is a 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 Auvåg, the village of Bø, Eidet, Guvåg, Hovden, Klakksjorda, Malnes, Nykvåg, Utskor, and Vågen. The Litløy Lighthouse is located on the tiny island of Litløya off the coast of Bø.
The municipality is the 288th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bø is the 249th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,569. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 7.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Bø was established on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1866, a small area of the neighboring Øksnes Municipality was transferred to Bø. On 1 January 1964, the Kråkberget village and the peninsula north of Kråkberget was transferred from the neighboring municipality of Øksnes to Bø.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Bø farm, since the first 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".

Touristic attraction - Man from the Sea

Looking out to sea from a rise above Vinje in the village of Bø stands the 'Man from the Sea', a high figure of a man made from cast iron. The man is holding a crystal in his hands like a sacrifice to the sea. In the winter light, the crystal turns blue. The man stands with his back to the village of Bø, and looks out over the craggy archipelago towards the distinctive silhouette of Gaukværøya island.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Bø. It is part of the Vesterålen prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
Bø og MalnesBø ChurchBø1824
Bø og MalnesMalnes ChurchEidet1895

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 of "Bø" by Statistics Norway.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Bø, are responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality falls under the Vesterålen District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Bø is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Geography

The municipality of Bø lies on the island of Langøya and many small surrounding islets including Litløya and Gaukværøy. The Norwegian County Road 820 is the only road that connects Bø to the rest of Norway via the long Ryggedal Tunnel, connecting Bø to the neighboring municipalities of Øksnes and Sortland.

Climate