Brønnøysund () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 ...

Brønnøy Municipality Brønnøy is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre and commercial centre of the municipality is the town ...

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,

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 ...

. The town has a population (2024) of 5,093 and a

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 ...

of . It is also a former municipality within

county. The village of Brønnøysund originally was declared a ladested in 1923 which made it an independent municipality. After merging with Brønnøy Municipality in 1964, it lost its town status. Then in 2000, it once again received town status. The town lies along the coast and is often called "the coastal town in the middle of Norway." Brønnøysund is also the regional center of Southern

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 ...

History

During the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

, ''Torgar'', by the foot of the legendary mountain Torghatten, was a nationally powerful chieftain seat and an important commercial center along the coast. The original inhabitants were wiped out in an outright massacre by ''Duke Skule'' and his men in the Norwegian civil wars that raged around 1240, in the high medieval era of Norway. The region was re-populated by immigrants from

Southern Norway Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, which could explain the unique dialect with a Swedish-like intonation. In May 1945 "the prisoners oreign POWsfrom

Ylvingen Ylvingen is an island in Vega Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies just off the west coast of Norway, between the island of Vega and the mainland. In 2017, there were 25 residents on the island. The island is connected by ...

" were transported by ship from the harbour at Brønnøysund. ("the song saved my life") documents the farewell to Igor Trapitsin and the other Soviet ex-POWs from the harbour at Brønnøysund.

Name

The town (and former municipality) is named ''Brønnøysund'' after the small island Brønnøya () since it is located on the island. 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 ...

" and the second 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 ...

". The final element of the name is which means "

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

", referring to the strait of water that flows alongside the island and town. Islands with freshwater wells were important for seafarers.

Municipal self-government (1923-1963)

The village of Brønnøysund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1923 when it was separated from

when it became a ladested (port town) and municipality of its own. 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, the town of Brønnøysund (population: 2,064) was merged with

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 ...

(population: 1,380),

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),

(population: 2,635), and the Lande-Tosen area 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 ...

to form a new, enlarged

. At that time, it lost its status as a ladested (town). In 2000, after some changes to Norwegian law, the municipality of Brønnøy designated Brønnøysund as a town once again. Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 652nd largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Brønnøysund Municipality was the 439th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,991. The municipality's

was and its population had increased by 27.3% over the previous 10-year period.

Municipal council

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, borough cou ...

of Brønnøysund was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the 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

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 ...

() of Brønnøysund was the political leader of the town-municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position: * 1923–1928: Einar Olaussen Høvding ( H) * 1929–1931: Carl Waldemar Gotaas ( H) * 1932–1937: Karl Ludvik Nøstvik ( FV) * 1938–1939: Einar Høvding ( LL) * 1940–1945: Sigurd Monrad Gladsø ( NS) * 1945-1945: Christian Aasgaard ( LL) * 1946–1948: Sverre G. Stolpe ( Ap) * 1948–1951: Halvdan Skogheim ( Ap) * 1952-1952: Sigurd Monrad Gladsø ( LL) * 1953-1953: Lauritz Johan Riise ( H) * 1954–1955: Sigurd Monrad Gladsø ( LL) * 1956–1959: Lauritz Johan Riise ( H) * 1960–1963: Sigurd Monrad Gladsø ( LL)

Economy

The town is the administrative and commercial centre of Brønnøy Municipality. In recent years, Brønnøysund has managed to create a certain economic growth. ''Fjord Seafood'' originated here, as well as 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) ...

mine in Northern Europe and the highest foodstuff production in Northern Norway are examples of entrepreneurship and well-run economy in this somewhat prosperous region. Modern agriculture, hydroponics, the large TTS transport corporation,

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wo ...

and tourism are the main driving industries.

Transportation

Telegrafen Brønnøysund.jpg, This building is known as ''Telegrafen'' as it originally housed the telegraph in town. Storgata i Brønnøysund.jpg, Brønnøysund main street Bronnoysundregistrene seawards.jpg, Brønnøysund Register Centre buildings Tårnskolen i Brønnøysund.jpg, ''Tårnskolen'', the old school. Brønnøysund has daily visits by the

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally, and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports ...

(Coastal Express), northbound at night and southbound in the afternoon. It has its own airport,

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 ...

, and a direct eastbound connection to the

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway. Throughout Norway, the town is known as the location of 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 ...

, in which the new e-government portal Altinn is the newest addition. Torghatten ASA has its headquarters in Brønnøysund.

Airport

is located only about from the town centre, and is a vital communications link not only for the town, but also for a large region surrounding the town. The airport opened in 1968, providing modern and much needed, time-effective transportation to the region, and making it possible to reach both the capital and medical services within an acceptable timeframe. In May 2010, the direct flight to Oslo was launched, and since April 2011 there are three daily departures for Oslo with a 50-seat plane. There are also connections to

Sandnessjøen Sandnessjøen is a town and the administrative centre of Alstahaug Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Sandnessjøen was granted special trading privileges in the late 1600s, but it did not receive town status until 1999. Sandnessjøen is ...

Mo i Rana (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or (and unofficially , ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...

, Rørvik,

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, and Bodø. It is served by Norway's oldest airline, Widerøe. It is also base for some of the offshore helicopter services, making it possible to exploit the vast petroleum resources offshore.

Culture

The town has a number of cultural institutions: *

Brønnøysund Musikkorps Brønnøysund Musikkorps (BMK) (founded in the autumn of 1894) is a wind band in Brønnøysund, Norway, with approximately 50 members. The BMK slogan is ''Korps for folk'' (Band for people). Its conductor is ''Hans Kristian Edvardsen''. Projects ...

(wind band) * Brønnøysund Mannskor (male choir) * Kor i Øyan (mixed choir) The NRK series ''Himmelblå'', a franchise of the British '' Two Thousand Acres of Sky'', was filmed in part in Brønnøysund and on various locations nearby. The local Brønnøy Church serves the town of Brønnøysund.

Geography

Brønnøysund sits on a narrow peninsula on the mainland surrounded by islands and water. The town is connected to the island Torget by the Brønnøysund Bridge.

Climate

Brønnøysund 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 (Koppen ''Cfb'') considering the northerly location, and a long frost-free season. 9 of the 12 monthly all-time lows are from 1940 or older; 3 from before 1900. The coldest low after 2000 is from February 2010. The all-time low was recorded in February 1966, and the all-time high was set on July 27, 2019.

In popular culture

*The 2015 documentary film ''Sangen reddet mitt liv'' ("the song saved my life") documents the farewell to Igor Trapitsin and the other Soviet ex-POWs from the harbour at Brønnøysund.

References

External links

bronnoysund.com - local portal for Brønnøysund and Brønnøy

Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050115083750/http://www.brreg.no/english/ Brønnøysund Register Centre
Images of the Brønnøysund Area, Dana Morris

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronnoysund Former municipalities of Norway Populated places in Nordland Cities and towns in Norway Brønnøy 1923 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway 2000 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1923 Populated places disestablished in 1964 Populated places established in 2000