Brønnøy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brønnøy kommune | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates (city): 65°28′33″N 12°24′1″E / 65.47583°N 12.40028°ECoordinates: 65°28′33″N 12°24′1″E / 65.47583°N 12.40028°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Helgeland | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1813 | ||
| Administrative centre | Brønnøysund | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2005) | Kjell H. Trælnes (Sp) | ||
| Area (Nr. 99 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 1,042 km2 (402.3 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 996 km2 (384.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 7,565 | ||
| - Density | 8/km2 (20.7/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 8.5 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 130 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Norwegian demonym | Brønnøyfjerding[1] | ||
| Website | www.bronnoy.kommune.no | ||
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Brønnøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative and commercial centre is Brønnøysund. A secondary centre is Hommelstø.
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[edit] History and economy
Brønnøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Three other municipalities were later separated from it: Velfjord (in 1875), Sømna (in 1901), and the town of Brønnøysund (in 1923). All three of these were again merged with Brønnøy on 1 January 1964, but Sømna was separated (again) from Brønnøy on 1 January 1977.
The Brønnøysund Register Centre is and important employer, and one of the largest limestone mines in Northern Europe is located in the municipality.
[edit] General information
[edit] Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the small island Brønnøya (Old Norse: Brunnøy), since the first church was built there. The first element is brunnr which means "well" and the last element is øy which means "island". (Islands with freshwater wells were important for seafarers.)
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 20 May 1988. The arms show a direction-sign used in the harbor to guide the ships. It symbolizes the importance of the harbor for the municipality.[2]
[edit] Geography
The municipality has great scenic variety with numerous islets, lakes (such as Eidevatnet), mountains, and some fertile agricultural areas. Brønnøy borders the municipalities of Vega and Vevelstad to the north, Vefsn and Grane to the east, and Bindal and Sømna to the south.
[edit] Nature
In the southwest is the island of Torget, with the mountain Torghatten, is famous for a cavity that goes straight through the structure. The world's most northerly naturally occurring small-leaved lime (linden) forests grows in Brønnøy, and there are patches of boreal rainforests in Grønlidalen nature reserve[3] and Storhaugen nature reserve. Strompdalen nature reserve[4] and Horsvær nature reserve, a nesting place for a rich variety of seabirds, are also located in the municipality.
[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/bronnoy.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- ^ "Kvannskogen naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1605#9150. Retrieved 2008-11-19. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Strompdalen naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1685#4552. Retrieved 2008-11-19. (Norwegian)
[edit] External links
Media related to Brønnøy at Wikimedia Commons
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