Bø is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straume which is where municipal administration, a grocery store, and a gasoline station are located. In addition to this, the urban area of Bø (including Steine and Vinje), which is the largest urban area in the municipality and it has a grocery, liquor store, swimming pool, movie theater, Bø Church, and additional service infrastructure. Other smaller villages include Gimstad, Fjærvoll, Straumsjøen, Skårvågen, Søberg, Malnes, Eidet, Guvåg, Hovden, Klakksjorda, Nykvåg, Utskor, Ringstad, and Vågen. The 247 km2 municipality is the 289th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Bø is the 249th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,634. The municipality's population density is 10.7 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period. The Litløy Lighthouse is located on the tiny island of Litløya off the coast of Bø.

General information

The municipality of Bø was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1866, a small area of the neighboring Øksnes Municipality (population: 40) was transferred to Bø Municipality. On 1 January 1964, the Kråkberget village and the peninsula north of the village (population: 271) was transferred from the neighboring Øksnes Municipality to Bø Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bø farm since the first Bø Church was built there. The name is identical to the word which means "farm" or "farmstead". It is a cognate with the Dutch language word which means "farmer".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 7 August 1987. The official blazon is "Sable, a demi-boat argent with a mast and a square sail". This means the arms have a black field (background) and the charge is a half-boat with a mast and a square sail. The boat has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. This was chosen to represent the importance of fishing in Bø, but also reminiscent of some old legends/fairy tales in the region that include a "half boat". (The sea ghost draugr travelled in a half boat.) The arms were designed by Rolf Tidemann.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within Bø Municipality. It is part of the Vesterålen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Population

The municipality has sustained a steady decline in population since the 1950s when 6,122 people lived in Bø. The 2001 census showed that the population had declined to 3,156, while the fourth quarter population estimate for 2007 showed the population at 2,866. The bureau of statistics projects a continued population decline. The municipality has 73 numbered farms (gårdsnummer) in the cadastre. The largest and densest population center is the Vinje, Skagen, and Steine area in the southwestern part of the municipality, which is designated as the village of "Bø" by Statistics Norway.

Government

Bø Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Midtre Hålogaland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Taxation

In 2020, the municipality announced a reduction in its wealth tax, creating a tax shelter unique in Norway, in order to encourage population growth. The state charges a 0.85% wealth tax on an individual's global assets above NOK1.5 million. Of this, 0.15% goes to the state, and the remaining 0.7% goes to the individual's municipality of residence. Bø Municipality announced that after January 2021, it would reduce its stake to just from 0.7% to 0.2%, and thus reducing the tax collected from 0.85% to 0.35%.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bø is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Bø is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list):

Geography

The municipality of Bø lies on the island of Langøya and many small surrounding islets including Litløya and Gaukværøy. The Norwegian County Road 820 is the only road that connects Bø to the rest of Norway via the 1612 m long Ryggedal Tunnel, connecting Bø to the neighboring Øksnes Municipality and Sortland Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the 694.61 m tall mountain Burnestinden.

Climate

Bø has a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc), and is close to a temperate oceanic climate. Bø is the northernmost location in the world with all monthly means above 0 °C. The current weather station is on the south coast of the island. An earlier weather station was located more inland on the island in a flat marshy area, and had recorded up to 30. °C in July and down to -20 °C in February.

Attractions

Man from the Sea

Looking out to sea from a rise above Vinje in the village of Bø stands the 'Man from the Sea', a 4.3 m high figure of a man made from cast iron. The man is holding a crystal in his hands like a sacrifice to the sea. In the winter light, the crystal turns blue. The man stands with his back to the village of Bø, and looks out over the craggy archipelago towards the distinctive silhouette of Gaukværøya island.

Notable people