Rødøy Municipality

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 324th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,153. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 12.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Rødøy was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). 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" (probably referring to the color of the rocks of the island) 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'' ( en, the lion of Rødøy) because its profile resembles a lion.
See picture
. 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 (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

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.

Climate

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has a weather station near the Myken Lighthouse on an island west in the Norwegian Sea. Myken is situated 32 km from the mainland, and 25 km north of the Arctic Circle. This is one of the most oceanic stations in Northern Norway. The current station has recording since 1992, and an earlier station at same location was in operation 1920–1991. The all-time high temperature is recorded July 1972; the all-time low is recorded in February 1966. The driest month on record is September 2015 with 0.0 mm precipitation, and the wettest is October 1934 with 227 mm. The average date for first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is November 10 (1981-2010 average) at Myken.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Rødøy, 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 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 (incomplete list):
*2019–present: Inger Dagmar Monsen ( Ap)
*2003-2019: Olav Terje Hoff ( Sp)
*1995-2003: Johan Anton Svartis (Sp)
*1992-1995: Bernt Johan Arntsen (Ap)
*1990-1991: Gustav Lorentzen (Ap)
*1986-1989: Bernt Johan Arntsen (Ap)
*1984-1985: Gustav Lorentzen (Ap)
*1982-1983: Sven Hansen (Sp)
*1980-1981: Magne Hansen ( H)
*1976-1979: Hans Aakre ( KrF)
*1972-1975: Sven Hansen (Sp)
*1968-1971: Hans Aakre (KrF)
*1960-1967: Sven Hansen (Sp)
*1952-1959: Olav Hoff (KrF)

Notable people

* Hans Olav Lahlum (born 1973) a Norwegian historian, crime author, chess player and politician; known for his unconventional style. He grew up in Rødøy, a small community that he says he did not find enjoyable.

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodoy

Municipalities of Nordland
Populated places of Arctic Norway
1838 establishments in Norway