Rødøy

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File:Rødøyløva by sunset.jpg
The formation of Rødøyløva ('Rødøy Lion') by sunset.
Rødøy kommune
Municipality
250px
Coat of arms of Rødøy kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Rødøy kommune
Nordland within
Norway
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Country Norway
County Nordland
District Helgeland
Administrative centre Vågaholmen
Government
 • Mayor (2003) Olav Terje Hoff (Sp)
Area
 • Total 711.27 km2 (274.62 sq mi)
 • Land 686.54 km2 (265.07 sq mi)
 • Water 24.73 km2 (9.55 sq mi)
Area rank 156 in Norway
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,294
 • Rank 375 in Norway
 • Density 1.9/km2 (5/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -15.4 %
Demonym(s) Rødøyfjerding[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1836
Official language form Neutral
Website www.rodoy.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

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, Melfjorden, Oldervika, Sørfjorden, and Tjong. The municipality consists of many islands to the west of Norway's second biggest glacier, Svartisen.

File:Selsøyvika.jpg
Selsøyvik, in earlier days a stoppover for fishing boats from Trøndelag going to Lofoten

General information

The municipality of Rødøy was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 January 1884, the northern district of Rødøy was separated to form the new municipality of Meløy. This division left Rødøy with 1,945 residents. The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.[2]

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Rauðøy. The first element is rauðr which means "red" (probably referring to the color of the rocks of the island) and the last element is øy which means "island".[3]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 12 February 1988. The arms show a red lion on a silver background symbolizing the mountain called Rødøyløva (English: the lion of Rødøy) because its profile resembles a lion. (See picture). It is not the highest mountain in the municipality, however, Blokktinden is one that is higher.[4]

Churches

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

Churches in Rødøy
Parish
(Sokn)
Church Name Location
of the Church
Year Built
Rødøy Rødøy Church Rødøya 1885
Rødøy indre Sørfjorden Church Sørfjorden 1916
Tjongsfjorden Church Tjong 1962

Geography

The eastern part of Rødøy is located on the mainland, just east of the Saltfjellet mountain range. The rest of the municipality consists of islands to the west including Gjerdøya, Hestmona, 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.

References

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External links