Bodø, Nordland County, Norway

🇳🇴 Bodø is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland county). Some of the notable villages in Bodø include Misvær, Skjerstad, Saltstraumen, Løding, Løpsmarka, Kjerringøy, Sørvær, and Fenes.

The municipality of Bodø is located just north of the Arctic Circle and the town of Bodø is the largest urban area and town in Nordland county, and the second largest town in North Norway. The 1,395-square-kilometre (539 sq mi) municipality is the 66th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bodø is the 19th most populous municipality. The municipality's population density is 39.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (103/sq mi) and its population has increased by 10.7% over the previous 10-year period.

Bodø was named one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2024. It is also home to football club Bodø/Glimt, the northernmost club to win a European league competition.

History The village of Bodø was granted township status in 1816 and soon after, in 1818, it was known for the Bodø affair, smuggling by British merchants that later were compensated by Norway. The town of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1938, a part of the neighboring municipality of Bodin was transferred into the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1959, another part of Bodin was transferred into Bodø.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1968, the town of Bodø was merged with the municipality of Bodin and this created the much larger Bodø Municipality. On 1 January 1984, the Tårnvika and Øygården areas (population: 22) north-east of the village of Kjerringøy in Sørfold Municipality was transferred to Bodø. On 1 January 2005, the entire municipality of Skjerstad was merged into the municipality of Bodø.

History: World War II Most of the town of Bodø was destroyed during a Luftwaffe attack on 27 May 1940. Six thousand people were living in Bodø, and 3500 people lost their homes in the attack. Fifteen people died during the air attack (two 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. German shipping in and around Bodø was attacked in October 1943 in Operation Leader.

Off Bodø the submarine HMS Syrtis was lost on or around 28 March 1944 with all hands. Her location is currently unknown.

Toponymy The municipality is named after the old Bodøgård farm (Old Norse: Boðvin), since the town was built on its ground. The first element might be boði which means "sunken rock" or "skerry" and the last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture". The last element may have been misunderstood as øy which means "island" (and written with the Danish language form ø).

Geography The municipality lies just north of the Arctic Circle where the midnight sun is visible from 1 June to 13 July. 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 in parts of the municipality from early December to early January. The average number of sun-hours in Bodø is highest in June with a daily average of 22.1 hours.

Amongst the strongest tidal currents in the world, with water speeds reaching 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph), is Saltstraumen, situated about 30 km (19 mi) south-east of Bodø. The village of Kjerringøy is a well preserved old trading village on the coast about 40 km (25 mi) north of the town of Bodø. With its scenic setting and authentic buildings, several movies have been shot at this little port, including Benoni og Rosa (based on Knut Hamsun's novel), I am Dina, and Telegrafisten.

Skjerstad Fjord in the eastern part of Bodø passes through the Saltstraumen into the Saltfjorden. The Saltfjorden then flows west into the Vestfjorden. Lakes in the region include Fjærvatnet, Gjømmervatnet, Heggmovatnet, Soløyvatnet, Valnesvatnet, and Vatnvatnet.

There are also several islands and island groups in Bodø. The islands of Straumøya and Knaplundsøya are in the Saltfjorden. Several bridges connect these islands to the mainland: Åselistraumen Bridge, Indre Sunnan Bridge, and Saltstraumen Bridge. The islands of Landegode, Helligvær, Bliksvær, and Karlsøyvær all lie in the Vestfjorden. Several lighthouses are also located out in the Vestfjorden: Bjørnøy Lighthouse, Grytøy Lighthouse, Landegode Lighthouse, Nyholmen Lighthouse, and Tennholmen Lighthouse.

Nature Besides Saltstraumen, the municipality of Bodø has much wilderness for hikers. About 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the town of Bodø lies the popular recreation area Geitvågen. The area is inhabited by a large number of white-tailed eagles. Sjunkhatten National Park is partly located in Bodø municipality, and there are also 17 nature reserves. Sundstraumlian nature reserve has undisturbed mixed forest with marble bedrock, Skånland with coastal pine forest, Børvatnet protecting a birch forest with many orchids, and Bliksvær nature reserve with well-preserved coastal nature of many types and a rich bird life, making it a Ramsar site as well.

Government All municipalities in Norway, including Bodø, 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. The municipality falls under the Salten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Transport As the northern terminus of the Nordland Line, the town of Bodø is the northern end of the Vy network. However, travellers going further north will often switch to a connecting bus in the nearby town of Fauske bound for the town of Narvik. There is also a railway from Narvik to Kiruna in Sweden, and further into the Swedish rail network. Bodø Station was completed in 1961. Bodø Airport lies just south of the city centre and was opened in 1952. The airport served 1,733,330 passengers in 2015 and is the site of Bodø Air Traffic Control Center. The airline Widerøe has its head office in Bodø. Ferries run between Bodø and the Lofoten Islands to the west.

Institutions The main campus of Nord University is located 10 km (6.2 mi) outside the city centre. Twelve thousand undergraduate and graduate students study at the university.

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 of Northern Norway. The Norwegian Armed Forces headquarters for North Norway is located at Reitan, east of the city. The main hospital is Nordlandssykehuset HF, which has local, regional, and national areas of responsibility. SB Nordlandsbuss has its headquarters in Bodø, as does Bodø Energi and Nordlandsbanken.

The largest shopping centre in Nordland, City Nord, is located in the town of Bodø.

Military Bodø has a long history with the Norwegian Armed Forces, and especially the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). The Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Operational Headquarters are located at Reitan, east of Bodø. Parts of NATO air forces attending the annual Cold Response are stationed at Bodø Main Air Station. Bodø MAS was a major Norwegian military air base, housing two-thirds of Norway's F-16 fighter force and two of RNoAFs SAR Sea Kings. In January 2022, the F-16s were retired from service, significantly reducing the importance of Bodø as an air station. Bodin Leir located near the air station was an RNoAF recruit school including Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System personnel and a national response unit. The base was central during the Cold War due to its strategic location and proximity to the Soviet Union. It would have been vital in the build-up of NATO air and land forces to defend Norway, and thus the entire northern flank of NATO, in a war with the Warsaw Pact. It could also have been used as a forward base for American bombers. Now Bodin Leir is an camp to house military personnel for The Norwegian Joint Headquarters and Bodø Main Air Station.

Bodø has a street named General Fleischer's Gate in honour of Carl Gustav Fleischer.

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.

Culture Bodø's local newspapers are the Avisa Nordland and the on-line newspaper BodøNu.

The Norwegian Aviation Museum and The Nordland Museum are located in Bodø. The Nordland Museum (Nordlandsmuseet) consists of 18 smaller museums, which are located in different cities in the Nordland region. The main Nordland Museum institution is the Bodø City Museum, where the museum administration has its headquarters. The Bodø City Museum has four permanent exhibitions: The Lofoten Fisheries, a Sami exhibit, a Viking treasure, and an exhibition about Bodø's history from 1816 to 2000. In addition, the most recent smaller institution to open as part of the Nordland Museum was The Norwegian Jekt Trade Museum. It opened in 2019, and is located just outside of the city centre.

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.

The new cultural centre "Stormen" (the storm) was opened in 2014. It contains a library, a concert hall and theater. The building was designed by Daniel Rosbottom and David Howarth from London-based DRDH Architects. The official art projects in Stormen were curated by KORO.

Bodø is host to the cultural festivals Nordland Musikkfestuke, Parkenfestivalen and the Opptur festival every summer, as well as the free and volunteer based Bodø Hardcore Festival in early winter. The avant-garde and experimental contemporary music festival Nødutgangfestivalen has been held annually since 2006.

Fram Kino was the first cinema in Norway. It was started in the year 1908.

Churches The Church of Norway has six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Bodø. It is part of the Bodø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Sport Bodø's main professional team is the football club Bodø/Glimt, playing in Eliteserien, the top division of football in Norway, of which they are the current champions and currently playing in the 2022-23 UEFA Europa League.

In addition to Bodø/Glimt, Bodø has had several teams at national top level, including Grand Bodø (women's football), Junkeren (women's handball) and Bodø HK (men's handball).

The most well-known sporting arena in Bodø is Aspmyra Stadion, which in addition to being the home of Bodø/Glimt has hosted one international match. Also, the multi-purpose indoor Bodø Spektrum, contains full-size football and handball courts, as well as several swimming and bathing facilities.

The town is also home of Bodø Barbarians, a leading rugby league team.