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Bø Municipality (Nordland)

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Infobox kommune

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 Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert and its population has decreased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

The Litløy Lighthouse is located on the tiny island of Litløya off the coast of Bø.

General information

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File:IMG 1060a - Mot Malnesberget ved Hovden.jpg
Hovden in Bø municipality
File:Tarn in Vesterålen - panoramio.jpg
View towards Ryggedalsvatnet lake in the distance, northern part of Bø

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

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The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bø farm (Template:Langx) since the first Bø Church was built there. The name is identical to the word Template:Wikt-lang which means "farm" or "farmstead". It is a cognate with the Dutch language word Template:Wikt-lang which means "farmer".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Coat of arms

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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" (Template:Langx). 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Churches

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

Churches in Bø
Parish (Template:Lang) Church name Location of the church Year built
Bø og Malnes Bø Church Bø 1824
Malnes Church Eidet 1895

Population

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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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while the fourth quarter population estimate for 2007 showed the population at 2,866.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bureau of statistics projects a continued population decline.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The municipality has 73 numbered farms (gårdsnummer) in the cadastre.<ref>Template:Cite web See list of gårdsnummer in right column</ref> The largest and densest population center is the Vinje, Skagen, and Steine area in the southwestern part of the municipality,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which is designated as the village of "Bø" by Statistics Norway.

Government

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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.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Midtre Hålogaland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Taxation

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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 Template:NOK. 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%.<ref name="forbes">Template:Cite news</ref>

Municipal council

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The municipal council (Template:Lang) 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. Template:Div col Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Div col end

Mayors

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The mayor (Template:Langx) 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):<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

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Geography

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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 Template:Convert long Ryggedal Tunnel, connecting Bø to the neighboring Øksnes Municipality and Sortland Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Burnestinden.<ref name="elev" />

Climate

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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 Template:Convert. 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 Template:Convert in July and down to Template:Convert in February. Template:Weather box Template:Weather box

Attractions

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Man from the Sea

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Looking out to sea from a rise above Vinje in the village of Bø stands the 'Man from the Sea', a Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

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References

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