Rødøy


Rødøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågaholmen. Other villages include Gjerøy, Jektvika, Kilboghamn, Melfjordbotn, Oldervika, Sørfjorden, and Tjong. The municipality consists of many islands to the west of Norway's second biggest glacier, Svartisen.
The municipality is the 162nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rødøy is the 321st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,213. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 5.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Rødøy was established on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1884, the northern district of Rødøy was separated to form the new municipality of Meløy. This division left Rødøy with 1,945 residents. The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Rauðøy. The first element is rauðr which means "red" and the last element is øy which means "island".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1988. The arms show a red lion on a silver background symbolizing the mountain called Rødøyløva because its profile resembles a lion.. It is not the highest mountain in the municipality, however, Blokktinden is one that is higher.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes within the municipality of Rødøy. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
RødøyRødøy ChurchRødøya1885
Rødøy indreSørfjorden ChurchSørfjorden1916
Rødøy indreTjongsfjorden ChurchTjong1962

Geography

The eastern part of Rødøy is located on the mainland, just east of the Saltfjellet mountain range. The rest of the municipality consists of islands to the west including Gjerdøya, Storselsøya, Myken, Nesøya, Rangsundøya, Renga, and Rødøya. The westernmost part of the municipality is the Myken islands in the Vestfjorden, where the Myken Lighthouse is located.
The Tjongsfjorden is located in the northern part of the mainland of Rødøy, just north of the mountain Blokktinden. The Melfjorden is located in the southern part of the mainland, flowing out of the Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Rødøy, 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 Rana District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Rødøy is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Rødøy :