Bodø Municipality

Bodø (pronounced [ˈbûːdøː] ^ⓘ; Lule Sami: Bådåddjo, Swedish: Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland county). Some of the notable villages in Bodø include Misvær, Skjerstad, Saltstraumen, Løding, Løpsmarka, Kjerringøy, Sørvær, and Fenes.

The 1,395-square-kilometre (539 sq mi) municipality is the 66th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Bodø Municipality is the 19th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 53,712. The municipality's population density is 38.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (100/sq mi) and its population has increased by 8% over the previous 10-year period. The municipality of Bodø is located just north of the Arctic Circle and the town of Bodø (population: 42,831; about 80% of the residents of the municipality), is the largest urban area and town in Nordland county, and the second largest town in North Norway.

Bodø was named one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2024. It is also home to football club Bodø/Glimt, the northernmost club to win a European national league competition (namely Eliteserien, the championship of Norway).

The municipality is named after the old Bodøgård farm (Old Norse: Boðvin), since the town was built on its ground. The first element might be boði which means "sunken rock" or "skerry" and the last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture". The last element may have been misunderstood as øy which means "island" (and written with the Danish language form ø).

The coat of arms was first approved in 1889. It showed a midnight sun above a boat on the sea in front of a mountain range. The current version which is a simplified, modern version of the old arms was granted on 24 July 1959. The official blazon is "Gules, a sun Or" (Norwegian: På rød bunn en gull sol). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a sun. The sun has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The sun was chosen since Bodø was the first town in Northern Norway, and it experiences the midnight sun every year. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg.

The municipality lies just north of the Arctic Circle where the midnight sun is visible from 1 June to 13 July. Due to atmospheric refraction, there is no true polar night in Bodø, but because of the mountains south of Bodø, the sun is not visible in parts of the municipality from early December to early January. The average number of sun-hours in Bodø is highest in June with a daily average of 22.1 hours.

Bodø Municipality is located along the Skjerstadfjorden, south of Steigen Municipality, west of Sørfold Municipality and Fauske Municipality, northwest of Saltdal Municipality, and northeast of Beiarn Municipality and Gildeskål Municipality. There are two island municipalities located to the west of Bodø Municipality: Røst Municipality and Værøy Municipality.

Amongst the strongest tidal currents in the world, with water speeds reaching 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph), is Saltstraumen, situated about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Bodø. The village of Kjerringøy is a well preserved old trading village on the coast about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the town of Bodø. With its scenic setting and authentic buildings, several movies have been shot at this little port, including Benoni og Rosa (based on Knut Hamsun's novel), I am Dina, and Telegrafisten.