Rødøy 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 (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is part of the

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly 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 mountains and Svart ...

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing socia ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of the municipality is the village of Vågaholmen. Other villages include Gjerøy, Jektvika, Kilboghamn, Melfjordbotn, Oldervika, Sørfjorden, and Tjong. The municipality consists of many islands to the west of Norway's second biggest glacier, Svartisen. The municipality is the 162nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rødøy is the 324th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,153. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is and its population has decreased by 12.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

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

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janua ...

law). On 1 January 1884, the northern district of Rødøy was separated to form the new municipality of

Meløy Meløy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørnes. Other villages include Eidbukta, Neverdal, Glomfjord, Halsa, Reipå, St ...

. This division left Rødøy with 1,945 residents. The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Rauðøy''. The first element is ''rauðr'' which means "red" (probably referring to the color of the rocks of the island) and the last element is ''øy'' which means "

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was granted on 12 February 1988. The arms show a red lion on a silver background symbolizing the mountain called ''Rødøyløva'' ( en, the lion of Rødøy) because its profile resembles a lion.
See picture
. It is not the highest mountain in the municipality, however, Blokktinden is one that is higher.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has two parishes () within the municipality of Rødøy. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 reside ...

) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

The eastern part of Rødøy is located on the mainland, just east of the Saltfjellet mountain range. The rest of the municipality consists of islands to the west including Gjerdøya, Storselsøya, Myken, Nesøya, Rangsundøya,

Renga ''Renga'' (, ''linked verse'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 mora (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets. ...

, and Rødøya. The westernmost part of the municipality is the Myken islands in the Vestfjorden, where the

Myken Lighthouse Myken Lighthouse ( no, Myken fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in Rødøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the small island of Jutøya in the Myken island group, about southwest of the town of Bodø. It was established ...

is located. The Tjongsfjorden is located in the northern part of the mainland of Rødøy, just north of the mountain Blokktinden. The

Melfjorden Melfjorden is a fjord in the municipality of Rødøy in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the Arctic Circle. The long fjord goes from the village of Melfjordbotn in the east to its mouth in the Rødøyfjorden near the island of Ra ...

is located in the southern part of the mainland, flowing out of the

Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park ( no, Saltfjellet–Svartisen nasjonalpark) is a national park in Nordland county in Norway. It is located within the municipalities of Beiarn, Meløy, Rana, Rødøy, Saltdal, and Bodø. European route E6 a ...

Climate

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has a weather station near the Myken Lighthouse on an island west in the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

. Myken is situated 32 km from the mainland, and 25 km north of the Arctic Circle. This is one of the most oceanic stations in Northern Norway. The current station has recording since 1992, and an earlier station at same location was in operation 1920–1991. The all-time high temperature is recorded July 1972; the all-time low is recorded in February 1966. The driest month on record is September 2015 with 0.0 mm precipitation, and the wettest is October 1934 with 227 mm. The average date for first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is November 10 (1981-2010 average) at Myken.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Rødøy, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

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

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, 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 a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the

Rana District Court Rana District Court ( no, Rana tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Mo i Rana. The court existed from 1859 until 2021. It served the central part of the county which included the municipal ...

and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Rødøy is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a 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 often feature ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Rødøy (incomplete list): *2019–present: Inger Dagmar Monsen ( Ap) *2003-2019: Olav Terje Hoff ( Sp) *1995-2003: Johan Anton Svartis (Sp) *1992-1995: Bernt Johan Arntsen (Ap) *1990-1991: Gustav Lorentzen (Ap) *1986-1989: Bernt Johan Arntsen (Ap) *1984-1985: Gustav Lorentzen (Ap) *1982-1983: Sven Hansen (Sp) *1980-1981: Magne Hansen ( H) *1976-1979: Hans Aakre ( KrF) *1972-1975: Sven Hansen (Sp) *1968-1971: Hans Aakre (KrF) *1960-1967: Sven Hansen (Sp) *1952-1959: Olav Hoff (KrF)

Notable people

* Hans Olav Lahlum (born 1973) a Norwegian historian, crime author, chess player and politician; known for his unconventional style. He grew up in Rødøy, a small community that he says he did not find enjoyable.

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 ye ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodoy Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway