Brønnøy is a

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

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is part of the

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly Districts of Norway, district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet moun ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

and commercial centre of the municipality is the town of

Brønnøysund Brønnøysund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The town has a population (2024) of 5,093 and a population density of . It is also a List of for ...

. A secondary centre is the village of Hommelstø. Other villages include Tosbotnet, Lande,

Trælnes Trælnes is a village in Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian County Road 17 and along the Torgfjorden, just north of the village of Berg (in neighboring Sømna Municipality Sømna is a ...

, and Skomo. The municipality is the 107th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Brønnøy is the 135th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,826. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 0.9% over the previous 10-year period. The

Brønnøysund Register Centre Brønnøysund Register Centre ( Norwegian Bokmål: Brønnøysundregistrene; formal name Registerenheten i Brønnøysund, Norwegian Nynorsk: Brønnøysundregistra) is a Norwegian government agency that is responsible for the management of numero ...

is an important employer in Brønnøy. Also, one of the largest

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

mines in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

is located in the municipality.

Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy Brønnøysund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The town has a population (2024) of 5,093 and a population density of . It is also a List of for ...

is located near the town of Brønnøysund.

General information

The municipality of Brønnøy was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). On 1 October 1875 the eastern district (population: 1,162) was separated to become the new

Velfjord Municipality Velfjord is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1875 until its dissolution in 1964. Velfjord Municipality was centered around the Velfjorden in what is now Brønnøy Municipality. Most of the municipa ...

. This left Brønnøy with 4,156 residents. Then on 1 January 1901, the southwestern district (population: 2,731) was separated to become the new

Vik Municipality Vik is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of Vik is the village of Vikøyri. Other villages in the municipality includ ...

(which later changed its name to Sømna Municipality). Brønnøy Municipality was then left with 3,440 inhabitants. On 1 January 1923, the large village of

(population: 948) was separated from Brønnøy Municipality to become a town ('' ladested''). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, a major municipal merger took place. The following areas were merged to form a new, larger Brønnøy Municipality. *the town of

(population: 2,064) *

Sømna Municipality Sømna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative center of Sømna is the village of Vik i Helgeland. Other villages in the municipality include Dalbotn, Sund, Vennesund, and ...

(population: 2,347) *Brønnøy Municipality (population: 2,635) *

(population: 1,380) *the part of

Bindal Municipality Bindal is a municipality in the Helgeland region in the extreme southwest part of Nordland county, Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Terråk. Other villages include Bindalseidet, Holm, Vassås, Horsfjord and Åbygda. The ...

located in the Lande-

Tosbotn Tosbotnet is a village in Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of the Tosenfjord arm of the Bindalsfjorden. The village is mostly a tourist center. It is located along Norwegian County Road 76, nor ...

area around the inner

Bindalsfjorden Bindalsfjorden is a fjord in the southern part of Nordland county, Norway. The fjord is mostly located in Bindal Municipality Bindal is a municipality in the Helgeland region in the extreme southwest part of Nordland county, Norway. The admini ...

(population: 296) Just thirteen years later on 1 January 1977, most of the former

was separated from Brønnøy Municipality once again to become its own municipality. The Hongset area of the old Sømna Municipality remained in Brønnøy Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the small island of ''Brønnøya'' (), since the first

Brønnøy Church Brønnøy Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Brønnøysund. It is the main church for the Brønnøy parish which is part of the Sør-Helgeland p ...

was built there. The first element is which means "

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

" or "

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

" and the last element is which means "

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

". Islands with freshwater wells were important for seafarers. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Brønnø''. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Brønnøy''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 20 May 1988. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''" Or a balisage signal

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) that has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a navigational marker which is used to signal directions for navigation within a harbour. The charge represents the importance of boating and harbours in this seaside municipality. The arms were designed by Rolf Tidemann, a graphic artist from Brønnøysund.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has two parishes () within Brønnøy Municipality. It is part of the Sør-Helgeland prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the Bodø (town), town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the sea ...

Geography

The municipality has great scenic variety with numerous

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

s, lakes (such as Eidvatnet, Sausvatnet, and Fjellvatnet),

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

, and some fertile agricultural areas. Torget island is connected to the mainland via the

Brønnøysund Bridge The Brønnøysund Bridge () is a cantilevered road bridge near the town of Brønnøysund in Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The bridge was constructed in 1979 and it connects the small island of Torget with the mainland just so ...

. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Breivasstinden, on the border with

Grane Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Trofors. The ...

. Brønnøy is located along the Norwegian coast.

Vega Municipality Vega 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 Gladstad. Other villages include Holand and Ylvingen. The municipality comprises ...

and

Vevelstad Municipality Vevelstad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of For ...

are to the north,

Vefsn Municipality Vefsn () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the List of towns a ...

and

are to the east, and

and

are to the south. The large fjord

Velfjorden Velfjorden is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archi ...

runs into the heart of the municipality.

Nature

In the southwest is the island of Torget, with the mountain

Torghatten Torghatten is a granite dome on the island of Torget in Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is known for its characteristic hole, or natural tunnel, through its centre. It is possible to walk up to the tunnel on a well-prepa ...

, is famous for a cavity that goes straight through the structure.

Lomsdal–Visten National Park Lomsdal–Visten National Park (, ) is a Norwegian national park that was established on 26 June 2009. The park consists of a total protected area of . It is located in Nordland county, Norway, and covers parts of Brønnøy Municipality, Vevel ...

is located in the northeastern part of Brønnøy Municipality. The world's most northerly naturally occurring

small-leaved lime ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...

(linden) forests grows in Brønnøy Municipality, and there are patches of boreal rainforests in Grønlidalen nature reserve and Storhaugen nature reserve. Strompdalen nature reserve and Horsvær nature reserve, a nesting place for a rich variety of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s, are also located in the municipality.

Climate

Brønnøy has a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

with mild winters with all monthly mean temperatures above freezing (Koppen ''Cfb''). The growing season is also long for the latitude. There is a lot of precipitation, with significant precipitation in all months. Autumn and early winter is the wettest season and October the wettest month. The driest season is spring and early summer with May as the driest month. There have been weather stations in Brønnøy since 1873. 9 of the 12 monthly all-time lows are from 1940 or older; 3 from before 1900. The all-time low was recorded in February 1966, and the all-time high was set on 27 July 2019. Inland areas of the municipality will have colder winters.

Government

Brønnøy Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. The municipality is governed by a

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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Helgeland District Court Helgeland District Court () is a district court located in Nordland county, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Brønnøysund, Mo i Rana, and Sandnessjøen. The court is subordinate to the Hålogaland C ...

and the

Hålogaland Court of Appeal The Hålogaland Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Tromsø. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark as well as the island territor ...

Municipal council

The

() of Brønnøy is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

() of Brønnøy is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: *1838-1844: Ole Christian Andersen Nøstvig *1845-1848: Benjamin Jakobsen Opsjøn *1849-1852: Christian Holst *1853-1880: Sivert Andreas Nielsen ( V) *1881-1882: Thomas Holst ( H) *1883-1884: Andreas Olai Olsen ( V) *1885-1886: Lorentz Larsen ( V) *1887-1888: Bendik E. Jacobsen ( V) *1889-1900: Christen Heide Nielsen ( V) *1901-1904: Christen Abel Sellæg ( H) *1905-1907: Tørris Hanssen Tilrem ( V) *1908-1913: Wilhelm Magelssen Ottesen *1914-1916: Arnt Jakobsen Moe ( V) *1917-1919: Wilhelm Magelssen Ottesen *1920-1922: Henrik Brækkan ( H) *1923-1923: Johan J. Nordhus ( LL) *1923–1925: Arnt Jakobsen Moe ( LL) *1926–1928: Jørgen Kristian Skille ( V) *1929–1941: Siegvart Melthor Nygaard ( V) *1941–1945: Peder Strand ( NS) *1945-1945: Siegvart Melthor Nygaard ( V) *1946–1959: Martin Aakerøy ( Ap) *1960–1963: Henrik G. Fagerland ( V) *1964-1967: Gustav B. Skog ( Ap) *1968-1975: Kristian Sandvik ( Ap) *1975-1979: Bodil Aakre ( H) *1980-1983: Kristian Sandvik ( Ap) *1983-1995: Harald Solbakk ( Ap) *1995-1999: Ragnvald Dundas ( Sp) *1999-2013: Kjell Harald Trælnes ( Sp) *2013-2019: Johnny Hanssen ( Ap) *2019-2023: Eilif Trælnes ( Sp) *2023–present: Siv Aglen ( Ap)

Notable people

Hans Rosing Hans Rosing (9 August 1625 – 13 April 1699) was a Norwegian clergyman. He served as Bishop of the Diocese of Oslo from 1664 until 1699. Biography He was born at Brønnøy Municipality, Brønnøy in Nordland county, Norway. He was the son of C ...

(1625 at Brønnøy – 1699), a clergyman and Bishop of the

Diocese of Oslo The Diocese of Oslo is the Church of Norway's Diocese, bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese ...

from 1664-1699 * Skule Storheill (1907 in Brønnøysund – 1992), a prominent Norwegian naval officer * Kristine Andersen Vesterfjell (1910 in Lomsdalen – 1987), a South Sami reindeer herder and cultural advocate * Kåre Rodahl (1917 in Brønnøysund – 2008), a physician, physiologist, a research fellow in Arctic physiology and medicine and professor at the

Norwegian School of Sport Sciences The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (, NIH) is a public university located at Sognsvann in Oslo, Norway. It has the national responsibility for education and research related within sport sciences. It provides education at the Bachelor, Mast ...

Odd Grønmo Odd Henning Grønmo (born 15 March 1922 - 29 April 2012) was a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party. He was born in Brønnøy Municipality, but spent his professional career at Bodø Teacher's College from 1951 to 1989. He was ...

(1922 in Brønnøy - 2012), a Norwegian politician who was Mayor of Bodin & Nordland * Ørjar Øyen (born 1927 in Brønnøy), a sociologist and academic * Dag Skogheim (1928–2015) a teacher, a poet, novelist, biographer, and non-fiction writer who grew up in Brønnøysund *

Halle Jørn Hanssen Halle Jørn Hanssen (born 18 February 1937) is a Norwegian television correspondent, development aid administrator and politician. He was born in Brønnøy Municipality, and worked as a teacher in Vinje Municipality before enrolling at the Unive ...

(born 1937 in Brønnøy), a TV correspondent, development aid administrator, and politician * Rawdna Carita Eira (born 1970), a Norwegian and Sámi playwright, author, teacher, reindeer herder, and stage manager whoArtikkelserien «Fra Brønnøysunds saga» av tidligere ordfører Einar Olaussen (Høvding), publisert som føljetong i Brønnøysunds Avis i 1925 og 1926 grew up in Brønnøysund * Pål Arne Johansen (born 1977 in Brønnøy), a retired football midfielder and manager * Ulrik Saltnes (born 1992 in Brønnøysund), a footballer with almost 200 club caps

References

External links

bronnoysund.com - Local portal for Brønnøysund and Brønnøy

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronnoy Municipalities of Nordland 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838