Bodin is a former municipality in

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 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1968. The area is now part of

Bodø Municipality Bodø (; , ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Bodø (town ...

in the traditional district of

Salten Salten is a traditional district in Nordland county, Norway. It includes the municipalities of Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen, and Hamarøy. Salten covers an area of about and has a population (2016) of about ...

. 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 ...

was located in the town of Bodø which actually was not part of Bodin Municipality. Notable villages in Bodin included Løding, Fenes, and

Løpsmarka Løpsmarka is a village in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located about north of the town of Bodø. The village has a population (2023) of 2,302 and a population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing st ...

. Since 1968, Bodin has continued to exist as a parish within 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 ...

. Bodin parish represents the mainland area immediately surrounding the town of Bodø and the western islands. The main church for the parish is the historic Bodin Church. Prior to its dissolution in 1968, the municipality was the 117th largest by area out of the 454 municipalities in Norway. Bodin Municipality was the 59th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 12,807. 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 ...

was and its population had increased by 27.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of ''Bodø landdistrikt'' was established as a municipality 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). It included the rural areas surrounding the town of Bodø. In 1896, the name was changed to ''Bodin Municipality'' (). On 1 July 1938, an area of Bodin Municipality (population: 559) was transferred to the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1959, another area of Bodin Municipality (population: 1,303) was transferred to the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1963, an area of

Skjerstad Municipality Skjerstad () is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2005. The area is now part of Bodø Municipality in the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre wa ...

(population: 224) was transferred to Bodin Municipality. 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 majority of

Kjerringøy Municipality Kjerringøy is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1906 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality included the coastal and island areas around the entranc ...

(population: 524) and the ''Øyjord'' area of

Sørfold Municipality Sørfold is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of S ...

(population: 81) were merged into Bodin. Then on 1 January 1968, all of Bodin Municipality (population: 13,323) was merged with the town of Bodø (population: 14,252) to create a new, much larger,

. Upon merging, Bodin had a population of 13,323 and Bodø had a population of 14,252.

Name

Until 1896, the name of the municipality was ''Bodø landdistrikt'', meaning "the rural district of Bodø". The town of Bodø is named after the old ''Bodøgård'' farm meaning "the farm ''(gård)'' of Bodø". The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

form of the farm's name was or , and the municipality (originally the parish) was named after it because the first church ( Bodin Church) was built on its ground. The meaning of the first element is, maybe, which means "

skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...

". The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". In 1896, the municipality was renamed ''Bodin'' which is a more modern version of the older Old Norse form .

Geography

Bodin was a large municipality encompassing all of the mainland area around the town of Bodø and part of the land on the southern shore of the Saltfjorden. The municipality also included over of islands, notably the islands of

Helligvær Helligvær is an island group in the Vestfjorden in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The islands are located about northwest of the town of Bodø. The Bliksvær islands are about to the south, Landegode island is to the east, ...

Landegode Landegode (also written as Landego) is an island in Vestfjorden, just north of Bodø in Nordland county, Norway. The island belongs to Bodø Municipality and has an area of . The highest point on the mountainous island is the tall Rypdalstin ...

Bliksvær Bliksvær or Briksvær is an island group in the Vestfjorden in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The islands are located about west of the town of Bodø. The Helligvær islands are about to the north, Landegode island is to th ...

, and Givær plus numerous others. In all there were over 700 islands,

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, and

skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland *Skerries, County Armagh, a List of townlands in County Armagh#S, townland in Coun ...

in Bodin Municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Lurfjelltinden, located on the border with

Beiarn Municipality Beiarn is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. Beiarn is also a part of the Bodø Region, a statistical metropolitan region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village ...

and

Government

While it existed, Bodin Municipality was 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 was 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 ...

was

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 was under the jurisdiction of 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 ...

Mayors

The

() of Bodin was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position: * 1838–1840: Fredrik Ludvig Møller * 1840–1842: Marcus Fredrik Steen * 1842–1844: Jacob B. L. Tohrsen * 1844–1848: Jacob Coldevin * 1848–1852: Eiler Hagerup Krog Prytz Sr. * 1852–1856: Jacob Coldevin * 1856–1858: Peter Holm * 1858–1866: E. Boye * 1867–1868: Johan Andreassen * 1869–1874: Christen Evjenth * 1875–1880: Peter Johannes Engen * 1881–1883: Wilhelm August Kiønig * 1884–1889: M. Lundeberg * 1890–1892: Ole Anderssen * 1892–1894: Karl Løkke * 1895–1898: Olaus Holter * 1899–1901: Gustav Theodor Baumann ( V) * 1902–1904: L.K. Christie * 1904–1909: Haakon Evjenth * 1909–1928: Ole Løkke * 1929–1931: Arnt Gurnerius Holm ( FV) * 1932–1940: Severin Edvardsson * 1941-1941: S.U. Johansen ( NS) * 1941–1944: Halvdan Zahl ( NS) * 1944–1945: Fredrik Korsvik Rasmussen ( NS) * 1945-1945: Severin Edvardsson * 1946–1951: Gregorius Honstad * 1952–1955: Hans Berg ( KrF) * 1956–1959: Edgar Gundersen * 1960–1963: Odd Henning Grønmo * 1964–1968: Henry Forsaa ( Ap)

Municipal council

The

of Bodin was made up of 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 ...

Notable people

Adelsteen Normann Eilert Adelsteen Normann (1 May 1848 – 26 December 1918) was a Norwegian painter who worked in Berlin. He was a noted painter of landscapes of Norway. Normann was the artist who invited Edvard Munch to Berlin, where he painted ''The Scream''. ...

(1848-1918), a painter * Reidar Carlsen (1908- 1987), a politician for the

Labour Party of Norway Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

References

{{Authority control Bodø Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1968 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 1968