Bodin is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and former municipality in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1968. It was a large municipality encompassing all of the mainland area around the town of Bodø and part of the land on the southern shore of the

Saltfjorden Saltfjorden or Saltenfjorden is a fjord in the municipalities of Bodø and Gildeskål in Nordland county, Norway. The long fjord begins around the Fleinvær islands; travels northeast past the islands of Sørarnøya, Sandhornøya, and Straumøya ...

. The municipality also included over of islands, notably the islands of

Helligvær Helligvær is an island group in the Vestfjorden in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The islands are located about northwest of the town of Bodø. The Bliksvær islands are about to the south, Landegode island is to the east, ...

Landegode Landegode is an island in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located about northwest of the Bodø (town), town of Bodø and about east of the Helligvær islands. The highest point on the mountainous island is the t ...

Bliksvær Bliksvær or Briksvær is an island group in the Vestfjorden in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The islands are located about west of the town of Bodø. The Helligvær islands are about to the north, Landegode island is to ...

, and Givær plus numerous others. In all there were over 700 islands,

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

s, and

skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland * Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...

in Bodin Municipality. All of what was Bodin Municipality now lies entirely inside the present-day Bodø Municipality. The present-day parish of Bodin represents the mainland area immediately surrounding the town of Bodø and the western islands. The main church for the parish is the historic

Bodin Church Bodin Church ( no, Bodin kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the southeastern part of the town of Bodø. It is one of the churches for the Bodin parish which is pa ...

History

The municipality of ''Bodø landdistrikt'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

). It included the rural areas surrounding the town of Bodø. In 1896, the name of the municipality was changed to ''Bodin''. On 1 July 1938, an area of Bodin (population: 559) was transferred to the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1959, another area of Bodin (population: 1,303) was transferred to the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1963, an area of

Skjerstad Skjerstad () is a village in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The small village of Skjerstad sits at the mouth of the Misværfjorden, where it joins Skjerstadfjorden. The village is also the location of Skjerstad Church. The ...

(population: 224) was transferred to Bodin Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, the majority of the municipality of

Kjerringøy Kjerringøy is a village in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located about north of the town of Bodø, along the Karlsøyfjorden, just south of the entrance to the Folda fjord. The Kjerringøy Church is located ...

(population: 524) and the ''Øyjord'' area of

Sørfold Municipality Sørfold is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straumen. Other villages in the municipality include Leirfjordgården, ...

(population: 81) were merged into Bodin. Then on 1 January 1968, the municipality of Bodin (population: 13,323) was merged with the town of Bodø (population: 14,252) to create a new, much larger, Bodø Municipality. Upon merging, Bodin had a population of 13,323 and Bodø had a population of 14,252.

Name

Until 1896, the name of the municipality was ''Bodø landdistrikt'', meaning "the rural district of

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) 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 count ...

". The town of Bodø is named after the old farm ''Bodøgård'' meaning "the farm ''(gård)'' of Bodø". The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the farm's name was ''Boðin'' or ''Boðvin'', and the municipality (originally the parish) was named after it because the first church (

) was built on its ground. The meaning of the first element is, maybe, ''boði'' ("

skerry A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They a ...

") and the last element is ''vin'' which means "meadow" or "pasture". The old Norse form was revived in 1896 as the name of the rural municipality.

Government

The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

of Bodin was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Notable residents

Adelsteen Normann Eilert Adelsteen Normann (1 May 1848 – 26 December 1918) was a Norwegian painter who worked in Berlin. He was a noted painter of landscapes of Norway. Normann was the artist who invited Edvard Munch to Berlin, where he painted ''The Scream''. ...

(1848-1918), a painter *

Reidar Carlsen Reidar Carlsen (1 July 1908 – 2 May 1987) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. Reidar Carlsen was born in Bodin in Nordland county, Norway. He studied at the National School of Forestry (''Skogskolen'') in the community of Steinkj ...

(1908- 1987), a politician for the

Labour Party of Norway The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...

References

{{Authority control Bodø Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1968 disestablishments in Norway

History

Name

Government

Notable residents

See also

References