Editing Bø, Telemark (section)

==General information==
The historic [[prestegjeld|parish]] of Bø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). On 1 January 1866, an unpopulated area of Bø was transferred to the neighboring [[Holla, Telemark|Hollen Municipality]]. On 1 January 1867, the southern district of Bø (population: 2,257) was separated from Bø to become the new [[Lunde, Telemark|Lunde Municipality]]. On 1 January 1883, the borders of Bø were moved. An area from neighboring [[Seljord Municipality]] (population: 235) and an area from neighboring [[Heddal|Hitterdal Municipality]] (population: 42) were both transferred into Bø. On 1 July 1914, an area of neighboring [[Sauherad Municipality]] (population: 27) was transferred to Bø.<ref name="Dag">{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

On 1 January 2020, Bø Municipality (population: 6,630) was merged with the neighboring [[Sauherad Municipality]] (population: 4,293) to form the new [[Midt-Telemark Municipality]].<ref name="snl1">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Midt-Telemark |encyclopedia=[[Store norske leksikon]] |publisher=[[Kunnskapsforlaget]] |url=https://snl.no/Midt-Telemark |date=2023-08-15 |editor-last=Mæhlum |editor-first=Lars |language=no |accessdate=2023-08-30}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old ''[[Bø, Midt-Telemark|Bø]]'' farm ({{langx|non|Bœr}}) since the [[Old Bø Church]] was built there. The name is identical with the word {{wikt-lang|non|bœr}} which means "[[Homestead (buildings)|homestead]]" or "[[farm]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006120600018 |title=Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt |date=1914 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=7 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=197 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 19 February 1988 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when Bø became part of [[Midt-Telemark Municipality]]. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules (heraldry)|Gules]], three fiddles [[Or (heraldry)|Or]]"'' ({{langx|no|På raud grunn tre gull feler, 2-1}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a set of three [[fiddle]]s (two over one). The charge has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. Bø is historically known for its [[music]]al tradition, as well as the production of fiddles (similar to the [[hardingfele]]). The fiddle was thus chosen as an appropriate symbol for the municipality. The arms were designed by Halvor Holtskog, Jr. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Bø_(Telemark) |access-date=2023-08-31 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bo, Telemark (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-08-21.html |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1988-02-19 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LFO/forskrift/1988-02-19-201 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref> {{See also2|Coat of arms of [[Granvin#Coat of arms|Granvin]]}}

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] had one parish ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Bø. It was part of the [[Øvre Telemark prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Agder og Telemark]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Bø'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="2"|Bø||[[Bø Church (Telemark)|Bø Church]]||[[Bø, Midt-Telemark|Bø]]||1875
|-
|[[Old Bø Church]]||[[Bø, Midt-Telemark|Bø]]||c. 1100
|}