Rødøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre 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 357 municipalities in Norway. Rødøy Municipality is the 325th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,139. The municipality's population density 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 law). On 1 January 1884, the northern district of Rødøy was separated to form the new Meløy Municipality. This division left Rødøy with 1,945 residents. The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Rødøya () since the first Rødøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "red" (probably referring to the color of the rocks of the island). The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Rødø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Rødøy.

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1988. The official blazon is "Argent, a lion couchant gules" (). This means the arms have a field (background) that has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is red-colored lion that is laying down with its head up and its tail dangling down. The arms are somewhat canting because the municipal name means "Red Island", so the color red was chosen for the lion. The most striking formation on the island is a large, rocky mountain, which has a striking resemblance to a lion. The mountain's name is Rødøyløva, meaning "the Lion of Red Island", which is why this was chosen for the municipal arms. The silver background symbolizes the sea. The arms were designed by Olga Grimsmo Nilsen, former teacher in a local school.

Churches The Church of Norway has two parishes () within Rødøy Municipality. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Churches in Rødøy MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtRødøyRødøy ChurchRødøya1885Rødøy indreSørfjorden ChurchSørfjorden1916Tjongsfjorden ChurchTjong1962

Geography The eastern part of Rødøy Municipality is located on the mainland, just west of the Saltfjellet mountain range. The rest of the municipality consists of islands to the west including Gjerdøya, Storselsøya, Myken, Nesøya, Rangsundøya, Renga, and Rødøya. The westernmost part of the municipality is the Myken islands in the Vestfjorden, where the Myken Lighthouse is located.

The Tjongsfjorden is located in the northern part of the mainland of Rødøy, just north of the mountain Blokktinden. The Melfjorden is located in the southern part of the mainland, flowing out of the Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Steintinden.

Climate The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has a weather station near the Myken Lighthouse on an island west in the Norwegian Sea. Myken is situated from the mainland and 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 precipitation, and the wettest is October 1934 with . The average date for first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is November 10 (1981-2010 average) at Myken.

Farms of Rødøy Historically, the land of Rødøy was divided up into named farms. These farms were used in census and tax records and are useful for genalogical research. These are the farm names in Rødøy as they are listed in O. Rygh's series "Norske Gaardnavne" ("Norwegian Farm Names"), the Nordland volume of which was published in 1905. See also: Digital version of Norske Gaardnavne - Nordland

The farm numbers are used in some census records, and numbers that are near each other indicate that those farms are geographically proximate. Handwritten Norwegian sources, particularly those prior to 1800, may use variants on these names. For recorded variants before 1723, see the digital version of O. Rygh.

Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or toponymic, as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923.

Farm maps Note that each map has a maximum number of listings it can display, so the map has been divided into parts consistent with the enumeration districts () in the 1920 census. This map will include one farm name per farm number; other farm names or subdivision numbers may exist. Coordinates are approximate.

Farm names and numbers The following table is taken from O. Rygh's work, and has inconsistencies with the 1920 census.

If you can't find an entry when you are searching for a word that starts with AE, Ae, O, A or Aa, it may have been transcribed from one of those letters not used in English. Try looking for it under the Norwegian letter; Æ, Ø, and Å appear at the end of the Norwegian alphabet.

Farm Name Farm Number Nesøen nordre 1 Selsøen store 2 Sundøen 3 Selsøen lille 4 Rangsund 5 Haakaringen 6 Gjersvik 7 Langnes 8 Steinsland 9 Brensvik 10 Øresvik 11 Tømmerdal 12 Sørfjorden 13 Vasvik 14 Gjervalen 15 Kvalvik 16 Skeivik 17 Strand 18 Helvik 18, 2 Lines 19 Hellervik 20 Onøen ytre 21 Hytten 22 Sandvik 23 Kilhavn 24 Melfjorden 25 Nordfjordnes 26 Nordfjordholmen 27 Vaatvik 28 Hammerøen 29 Telnes 30 Einvik 31 Sperstad 32 Skjaavik 33 Kolvik 33, 3 Jægtvik 34 Forsdal 35 Aanes 36 Kvitnesvik 37 Mælen 38 Strømsnes 39 Kisten 40 Strømsvik 41 Eidvik 42 Værangen 43 Pladsen 44 Eskeholmen 45 Værnesosen 46 Værnes søndre 47 Rønvik 48 Bø 49 Værnes nordre 50 Kvalvik 51 Blok 52 Bjerga 53 Kjetvik 54 Reppen, 1 55 Reppen, 2 56 Breivik 57 Aarnes 58 Tjong, 1 59 Tjong, 2 60 Kilen 61 Æsvik 62 Segelfor 63 Vaagenge 64 Vaage 65 Sleipnes 66 Seines 67 Storsteinøren 68 Svinvær 69 Otervær 70 Myken 71 Valvær 71, 2 Gjesøen 72 Høivaagen 73 Rødøen 74 Flatøen 75 Gjerøen, 1 76 Gjerøen, 2 77 Gjærøhavn 78 Ringen 79

Government Rødøy 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 Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council The municipal council () of Rødøy Municipality is made up of 17 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 Rødøy Municipality 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:

1838–1840: Carl T. Schmidt 1840–1842: Jakob Andersen 1842–1844: Hans Krey Hansen 1844–1848: Ole S. Jæger 1848–1850: Knud T. Hoff 1850–1852: Petter Nielsen 1852–1856: Caspar Hansen 1856–1860: Sophus F. Søeberg 1860–1861: Anton Andersen 1861–1865: Børge Motzfeldt 1865–1867: Andreas Olsen 1867–1871: Hans M. Jæger 1871–1875: Børge Motzfeldt 1875–1876: Jakob Gjertsen 1877–1878: Anders Larsen Hoff 1879–1880: Jakob Gjertsen 1881–1888: Hans M. Jæger 1889–1896: Simon Dahl 1897–1898: Lars Larsen Hoff 1899–1907: Rafael Røsok 1908–1922: Jørgen A. Selsø 1923–1925: Wilhelm Hoff 1926–1934: Peter B. Andersen 1935–1940: Toralf Heen 1943–1944: Arnulf Hansen (NS) 1945–1947: Toralf Heen 1948–1951: Sigurd M. Carson (Ap) 1952–1959: Olav Hoff (KrF) 1960–1967: Sven Hansen (Sp) 1968–1971: Hans Aakre (KrF) 1972–1975: Sven Hansen (Sp) 1976–1979: Hans Aakre (KrF) 1980–1981: Magne Hansen (H) 1982–1983: Sven Hansen (Sp) 1984–1985: Gustav Lorentzen (Ap) 1986–1989: Bernt Johan Arntsen (Ap) 1990–1991: Gustav Lorentzen (Ap) 1992–1995: Bernt Johan Arntsen (Ap) 1995–2003: Johan Anton Svartis (Sp) 2003–2019: Olav Terje Hoff (Sp) 2019–present: Inger Dagmar Monsen (Ap)

Notable people Hans Olav Lahlum (born 1973), a 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