Bø is a village and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. It is part of the

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...

Midt-Telemark Midt-Telemark is a traditional district of Norway situated in Vestfold og Telemark county. It comprises three municipalities: Bø, Sauherad and Nome. The largest population centres in the region are Bø, Ulefoss, Bjervamoen and Gvarv, of whi ...

, but was historically regarded as part of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bø i Telemark ("Bø in Telemark"). Bø has been a settlement since ancient times, 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 ...

since the middle ages and became a municipality (''

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 Janu ...

'') in 1838. The area of Lunde was separated from Bø in 1867 to become a separate municipality. Bø has a population of 5,977 (2015). Bø's economy is mainly based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment ( public governance), management of non-profit es ...

. Bø has the character of a

university town A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several s ...

and is home to one of the principal campuses of the University of Southeast Norway; it was also the seat of one of the university's three predecessor institutions, Telemark University College. Bø is well known for its cultural traditions within

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

and

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

ship, and its central position within Norwegian

national romanticism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

with e.g. its ''

Bunad ''Bunad'' (, plural: ''bunader''/''bunadar'') is a Norwegian umbrella term encompassing, in its broadest sense, a range of both traditional rural clothes (mostly dating to the 18th and 19th centuries) as well as modern 20th-century folk costume ...

'' traditions. Bø has several times been called "the most beautiful place on earth" in modern literature, e.g. in

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguishe ...

's story '' En glad Gut'' (A Happy Boy).

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Bø'' farm (

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

: ''Bœr''), since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word ''bœr'' which means " homestead" or "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is use ...

Coat-of-arms

The

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

is from modern times. They were adopted on 19 February 1988. The arms show three gold-colored

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the ...

s on a red background. Bø is historically known for its

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

al tradition, as well as the production of fiddles (similar to the

hardingfele A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than f ...

). The fiddle was thus chosen as an appropriate symbol for the municipality.

Education

In 1923 the county of Telemark decided to start a secondary school in Bø, the equivalent of today's middle school or "ungdomsskole", called Telemark Realskole. At this time secondary schools mostly existed in the larger towns and cities, and most youngsters ended their schooling after 7 years. It was the county's intention to expand this school to a high school as soon as practically possible. This happened in 1947, and the school's name was Telemark Offentlige Landsgymnas. The existence of this school made it possible to establish Telemark College (''Distriktshøgskulen i Telemark''), which evolved into Telemark University College.

Attractions

Bø is famous for its waterpark ''Sommarland'' (the largest of its kind in Norway). Another tourist site in Bø is the ''Gygrestol''

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sedime ...

. There is also Kroa i bø, one of the oldest music venues in Norway. The club won the award for "Concert promoter of the Year 2005" and is based on voluntary work from students of the Telemark University College. Bø gamle kirke, Bø kommune, Telemark

Bø Old Church

Bo Church (''Bø kyrkje'') dates from ca. 1100. The church is in stone and has 200 seats. It was built in the Romanesque style, with long church plan and choir to the east. The sanctuary, choir loft and the apse are from the Middle Ages, whereas the narthex was built to the 1600s.

Bø Church

Bø New Church (''Bø kyrkje'') dates from 1875. The church is wooden and has 450 seats. The church was built in Neo-Gothic style. There are wood carvings on the altarpiece, pulpit, lectern and west gallery.

Notable residents

* Johan Henrik Rye (1787–1868) a military officer, jurist and

President of the Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

* Jon Eriksson Helland (1790 in Bø – 1862) a Norwegian

Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than ...

maker * Olaf Rye (1791 in Bø – 1849) a Norwegian-Danish military officer * Nils Nilsen Ronning (1870 in Bø – 1962) an American author, journalist and editor * Olav Gunnarsson Helland (1875 in Bø – 1946) a Norwegian

maker * Neri Valen (1893 in Bø – 1954) politician, Mayor of Bø in 1922 * Halvor Vreim (1894 in Bø – 1966) an architect, saved old wooden buildings * Olav Kielland (1901–1985 in Bø) a composer and conductor, lived in Bø from 1955 * Hallvard Eika (1920–1989) politician, Mayor of Bø, 1967–1970 *

Halvor Kleppen Halvor Kleppen (born 3 September 1947 in Bø, Telemark) is a Norwegian media personality, theme park owner and writer. He was hired in Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation radio in 1973, and worked in the entertainment department. In the summer of 1 ...

(born 1947 in Bø) a media personality, theme park owner and writer * Geir Barvik (born 1958 in Bø) civil servant; MD the

Norwegian State Housing Bank The Norwegian State Housing Bank ( no, Husbanken) is a Norwegian Government agency responsible for the housing politics in Norway. The main tool for the bank is mortgages in newly constructed houses. About half of all houses after World War II i ...

to 2010 *

Margunn Bjørnholt Margunn Bjørnholt (born 9 October 1958 in Bø, Telemark) is a Norwegian sociologist and economist. She is a research professor at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS) and a professor of sociology at the Univers ...

(born 1958 in Bø) a Norwegian sociologist, economist and academic *

John-Arne Røttingen John-Arne Røttingen (born 27 March 1969) is a Norwegian medical scientist, research administrator and civil servant. He is currently Ambassador for Global Health in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has been a special advisor to th ...

(born 1969 in Bø) medical scientist, CEO of the

Research Council of Norway The Research Council (also the Research Council of Norway; no, Norges forskningsråd) is a Norwegian government agency that funds research and innovation projects. On behalf of the Government, the Research Council invests NOK 11,9 billion (2021) ...

Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian writer and retired musician best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, issued under the name Burz ...

(born 1973) musician, writer and convicted murderer, lived in Bø after his release *

Øyvind Storesund Øyvind Storesund (born 9 March 1975 in Bø i Telemark, Norway) is a Norwegian Rock and jazz musician (upright bass) known from playing in the Norwegian bands Cloroform and Kaizers Orchestra. Career Storesund replaced the former bassist Jon ...

(born 1975 in Bø) a rock and jazz musician, plays upright bass * Håkon Anton Fagerås, (grew up in Bø) a sculptor * Webjørn S. Espeland, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1979 in Bø) radio personality

Sport

Anders Haugen Anders Olsen Haugen (October 24, 1888 – April 14, 1984) was a Norwegian-American ski jumper who won four national ski jumping championships. He competed in the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix and the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. And ...

(1888 in Bø – 1984) an American ski jumper bronze medallist at the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, Franc ...

Hans Kleppen Hans Kleppen (16 March 1907 – 12 April 2009) was a Norwegian ski jumper who competed in the late 1920s. He won a bronze medal on the individual large hill competition at the 1929 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane. Kleppen was bor ...

(1907 in Bø – 2009) a ski jumper, participated in the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

* Runar Steinstad (born 1967 in Bø) a paralympian athlete, bronze medallist at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Ga ...

* Elbasan Rashani (born 1993) a Kosovan professional footballer with over 200 club caps, grew up in Bø

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Bø: *

Bengtsfors Bengtsfors () is a locality and the seat of Bengtsfors Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

* Puumala, Eastern Finland,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

Gallery

File:Bø stasjon 2.jpg, Bø Station File:Bø Museum.jpg, Mølleplassen File:Gård-BøTelemark.jpg, Farm in Bø File:Gård.jpg, Farms in Bø File:Oterholtfossen.jpg, Oterholtfossen File:Lifjell Gleksefjell and Nybufjellet.jpg, Lifjell File:Christmas morning in Børte.JPG, A typical farm house in Børte

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

*
Bø Sommarland
waterpark
Kroa i Bø
music venue {{DEFAULTSORT:Bo, Telemark Midt-Telemark 2020 disestablishments in Norway Villages in Vestfold og Telemark