Bodø
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bodø kommune | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|||
| Coordinates (city): 67°18′20″N 14°32′57″E / 67.30556°N 14.54917°ECoordinates: 67°18′20″N 14°32′57″E / 67.30556°N 14.54917°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Salten | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1804 | ||
| Administrative centre | Bodø | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2005) | Odd-Tore Fygle (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 62 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 1,392 km2 (537.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 1,308 km2 (505 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 46,049 | ||
| - Density | 49/km2 (126.9/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 10.9 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 14 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål | ||
| Norwegian demonym | Bodøværing[1] | ||
| Website | www.bodo.kommune.no | ||
|
|
|||
Bodø (help·info) is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.
The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005. Bodø, located just north of the Arctic Circle, is the largest city in Nordland, and the second largest in North Norway.
Contents |
[edit] History
Bodø was granted township status in 1816 and is now county capital of Nordland. Most of Bodø was destroyed during a Luftwaffe attack on the 27 May 1940. Six thousand people were living in Bodø, and 3500 people lost their homes in the attack. Fifteen people lost their lives during the air attack (2 British soldiers and 13 Norwegians). Due to the acute lack of housing, the Swedish government helped build 107 apartments in the winter of 1941. These houses were built tightly together just outside the town. This small area, today in the heart of Bodø, is still called "svenskebyen" — the Swedish town. The town was subsequently rebuilt after the war. The rebuilding ended in 1959 with the completion of the new town hall.
Bodø received international attention during the U-2 Crisis in May 1960, when it became known that the American U-2 pilot Gary Powers had been shot down over the Soviet Union on his way from Pakistan to Bodø.
[edit] Toponymy
The municipality is named after the old Bodøgård farm (Old Norse: Boðvin), since the town was built on its ground. The first element might be boði which means "sunken rock" or "skerry" and the last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture". The last element was later misunderstood as øy which means "island" (and written with the Danish language form ø).[citation needed]
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 24 July 1959. The arms show the sun as a representation of the midnight sun.[2]
[edit] Geography
The city lies just north of the Arctic Circle where the midnight sun is visible from 2 June to 10 July. Due to atmospheric refraction, there is no true polar night in Bodø, but because of the mountains south of Bodø, the sun is not visible from the city from early December to early January. Average number of sunhours in Bodø is highest in June with 221 hours; May averages 218 and August 167, while March gets 114, October 54 and December only 0.4.[3]
As the northern terminus of Nordlandsbanen, Bodø is the northern end of the railroad network of Norway. However, travellers going further north will often switch to a corresponding bus in Fauske bound for Narvik. There is also a railway from Narvik to Kiruna in Sweden, and further into the Swedish rail network. The railway station opened in 1961. Bodø Airport lies two km outside the city centre and was opened in 1952. The airport served 1,308,000 passengers in 2004. Ferries run between Bodø and the Lofoten Islands.
The strongest tidal current in the world is Saltstraumen, situated some 30 km (20 mi.) east of Bodø. Kjerringøy is a well preserved old trading village on the coast 40 km north of Bodø. With its scenic setting and authentic buildings, several movies have been shot at this little port, including Benoni og Rosa (based on Knut Hamsun's novel), I am Dina and Telegrafisten.
[edit] Climate
Located on an unsheltered peninsula in the Norwegian Sea, Bodø is one of Norway's most windy cities. Snow cover during winter is usually sparse, not only due to the wind, but also an effect of a mild winter climate relative to its latitude with periods of rain being common in winter. Average temperature for January is -2.2 °C, while 24 July-hr average is 12.5 °C, annual mean temperature is 4.5 °C and average annual precipitation is 1020 mm. The driest months are April to June, with on average 50 mm rain each month, and the wettest is September to December with on average 120 mm each month[4]. The coldest month on record was February 1966 with a mean of -8.9 °C, and the warmest was July 1937 with a mean of 17.1 °C. Recent years have tended to be warmer; January average in Bodø (11 m) based on the 17-year period 1991 - 2007 is -0.3 °C, with average daily high temperature of 2.0 °C (35 °F). July average for the same 17 years is 13.5 °C, with average daily high 16.6 °C (62 °F) (source: eklima at met.no).
| Weather data for Bodø | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1 (34) |
0 (32) |
1 (34) |
5 (41) |
9 (48) |
13 (55) |
16 (61) |
15 (59) |
12 (54) |
7 (45) |
4 (39) |
2 (36) |
|
| Average low °C (°F) | -2 (28) |
-3 (27) |
-2 (28) |
2 (36) |
6 (43) |
9 (48) |
12 (54) |
11 (52) |
8 (46) |
4 (39) |
1 (34) |
-1 (30) |
|
| Source: [5] 2009-11-26 | |||||||||||||
[edit] Nature
Besides Saltstraumen, the municipality of Bodø has lots of wilderness to offer hikers. 10 kilometers north of Bodø lies the popular recreation area Geitvågen. The area is inhabited by a large number of White-tailed Eagles. There are 17 nature reserves in the municipality. Sundstraumlian nature reserve has undisturbed mixed forest with marble bedrock, [6] Skånland with coastal pine forest,[7] and Bliksvær nature reserve with well preserved coastal nature of many types and a rich bird life, making it a Ramsar site as well.[8]
[edit] Institutions
Bodø University College is located 10 km outside the city centre. Five thousand undergraduate and graduate students study at BUC.[9] The college is one of the leading academic environments among fisheries in Norway.[citation needed]
Bodø is the location of the only police academy in Norway outside Oslo. The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority is situated in Bodø, as is the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre for the northern half of Norway. The Norwegian Armed Forces headquarters for North Norway is located at Reitan, east of the city. SB Nordlandsbuss has its headquarter in Bodø, as does Bodø Energi and Nordlandsbanken.
[edit] Military
Bodø has a long history with the Norwegian Armed Forces, and especially the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). Bodø is the home to a NATO installation, CAOC3, and air forces regularly exercise during winter months. It is also the home of Bodø Air Force Base, a major Norwegian military air base, which today is a candidate for the Northern Air Base in the new RNoAF system, and Bodin Leir, an RNoAF recruit school including Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System personnel and a national response unit. The base was central during the Cold War due to its strategic location and proximity to the Soviet Union. It would have been vital in the build-up of NATO air and land forces to defend Norway, and thus the entire Northern flank of NATO, in a war with the Warsaw Pact. It could also have been used as a forward base for American bombers to strike targets in the Soviet Union.
Bodø has a street named General Fleischers Gate in honour of Carl Gustav Fleischer.
[edit] Culture
Bodø's local newspaper is the Avisa Nordland. The local football club, FK Bodø/Glimt, plays in the Norwegian Premier League as of 2008.[10]
The Norwegian Aviation Museum and Salten Museum are located in Bodø. Salten Museum has four exhibitions: The Lofoten Fisheries, a Sami exhibit, a Viking treasure, and an exhibition about Bodø's history from 1816 to 2000.
The Bodø Cathedral was built in 1956, representing post-war architecture, whereas the Bodin Church just outside the city centre dates from the 13th century, representing a typical medieval stone church.
Bodø is host to the cultural festivals Nordland Musikfestuke and Parkenfestivalen every summer, as well as the free and volunteer based Bodø Hardcore Festival in early winter.
[edit] Economy
The airline Widerøe has its head office in Bodø.[11]
[edit] See also
- Bodø Air Traffic Control Center or Bodø ATCC enroute air traffic control unit located at Bodø Airport
- Bodø Airport (IATA: BOO, ICAO: ENBO) (Norwegian: Bodø lufthavn), a main civilian airport in Bodø
- Bodø Energi, a municipal owned power company that serves Bodø
- Bodø Graduate School of Business (Norwegian: Handelshøyskolen i Bodø), a business school and faculty of Bodø University College located at Mørkved in Bodø
- Bodø Main Air Station (IATA: BOO, ICAO: ENBO) (Norwegian: Bodø hovedflystasjon), situated just outside Bodø, Norway and the largest air station in Norway, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force
- Bodø Region, a metropolitan region centered on the city of Bodø
- Bodø Station, a railway station in downtown Bodø
- Bodø University College, located in Mørkved, 10 km outside the city centre
[edit] References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn.
- ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/b/bodo.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- ^ "Soltimer/Soltid". Met.no. http://retro.met.no/met/met_lex/q_u/Soltid.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-19. (Norwegian)
- ^ "met.no Bodø climate". http://met.no/observasjoner/nordland/normaler_for_kommune_1804.html?kommuner met.no. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Bodø average conditions; base period 10 last years". Storm Weather Center. http://www.storm.no/vaer/bodø/klima. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ^ "Sundstraumlian naturreserva". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1687#4554. Retrieved 2008-11-19. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Skånland naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1655#4522. Retrieved 2008-11-19. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Bliksvær naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=3567#19895. Retrieved 2008-11-19. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Current students". Bodø University College. http://www.hibo.no/index.php?ID=12486&lang=eng. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "Adeccoligaen (Norges Fotballforbund)". Norges Fotballforbund. 2007. http://www.fotball.no/t2.aspx?p=53186&cat=51834. Retrieved 2007-08-16. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Headquarters." Widerøe. Retrieved on 15 November 2009.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bodø |
- Municipality website (Norwegian)
- Bodø travel guide from Wikitravel
- Bodø Airport
- The National Aviation Museum
- Salten Museum[dead link]
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
