Bø, Telemark

Bø is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It was part of the traditional region of Midt-Telemark, but was historically regarded as part of Grenland. The 263 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Midt-Telemark Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Bø i Telemark. Other villages in the municipality included Folkestad and Nordbøåsane.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 263 km2 municipality was the 291st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Bø was the 161st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,630. The municipality's population density was 25 PD/km2 and its population had increased by 20.2% over the previous 10-year period.

Bø's economy was mainly based on agriculture, forestry, tourism, education, and public administration. Bø had the character of a university town and it was home to one of the principal campuses of the University of Southeast Norway; it was also the seat of one of the university's three predecessor institutions, Telemark University College. Bø was well known for its cultural traditions within traditional music and artisanship, and its central position within Norwegian national romanticism (for example, its Bunad traditions). Several times in modern literature Bø had been called "the most beautiful place on earth", such as in Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's story En glad Gut (A Happy Boy).

General information
The historic 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 Hollen Municipality. On 1 January 1867, the southern district of Bø (population: 2,257) was separated from Bø to become the new 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 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.

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.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bø farm (Bœr) since the Old Bø Church was built there. The name is identical with the word which means "homestead" or "farm".

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, three fiddles Or" (På raud grunn tre gull feler, 2-1). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a set of three fiddles (two over one). The charge has a tincture of 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 musical 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.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Bø. It was part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Education
In 1923 the county of Telemark decided to start a secondary school in Bø, the equivalent of today's middle school or "ungdomsskole", called "Telemark Realskole". At this time secondary schools mostly existed in the larger towns and cities, and most youngsters ended their schooling after 7 years around the time they became teenagers. It was the county's intention to expand this school to a high school as soon as practically possible. This happened in 1947, and the school's name was "Telemark Offentlige Landsgymnas". The existence of this school made it possible to establish Telemark College (Distriktshøgskulen i Telemark), which evolved into Telemark University College.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bø was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordførar) of Bø:


 * 1838–1841: Gjermund Halvorsen Eikjarud
 * 1842–1852: Mattis Rye
 * 1853–1853: Gjermund Halvorsen Eikjarud
 * 1854–1855: Gunnulf Halvorsen Borgen
 * 1856–1868: Søren Rollefsen
 * 1868–1873: Halvor Clausen Eika
 * 1874–1887: Halvor Nilsen Tvedten
 * 1888–1891: Halvor K. Eika
 * 1892–1895: Halvor H. Valen
 * 1896–1898: Halvor T. Eika
 * 1899–1915: Gjermund Nilsen Grivi (V)
 * 1915–1919: Olav O. Stadskleiv (V)
 * 1920–1922: Halvor E. Skogen (V)2
 * 1923–1925: Neri Valen (V)
 * 1926–1934: Anund K. Lovald (V)
 * 1935–1940: Hans J. Verpe (V)
 * 1946–1947: Olav K. Hagen (LL)
 * 1948–1951: Anund K. Lovald (V)
 * 1952–1955: Halvor H. Brenne (LL)
 * 1956–1959: Svein Sperrud (LL)
 * 1960–1963: Hans J. Sønstebø (Sp)
 * 1964–1967: Hans Jubskås (LL)
 * 1968–1971: Hallvard Eika (V)
 * 1972–1975: Søren Høibø (V)
 * 1976–1977: Olav Ødegård (V)
 * 1978–1983: Asbjørn Josefsen (Ap)
 * 1984–1991: Gunleik Hynne (Ap)
 * 1991–1995: Asbjørn Josefsen (Ap)
 * 1995–2011: Arne Storhaug (Ap)
 * 2011–2019: Olav Kasland (V)

Attractions
Bø is famous for its waterpark Sommarland (the largest of its kind in Norway). Another tourist site in Bø is the Gygrestol rock formation. There is also Kroa i bø, one of the oldest music venues in Norway. The club won the award for "Concert promoter of the Year 2005" and is based on voluntary work from students of the Telemark University College.

Old Bø Church
The Old Bø Church dates from ca. 1100. The church is in stone and has 200 seats. It was built in the Romanesque style, with long church plan and choir to the east. The sanctuary, choir loft and the apse are from the Middle Ages, whereas the narthex was built to the 1600s.

Bø Church
The new Bø Church dates from 1875. The church is wooden and has 450 seats. The church was built in Neo-Gothic style. There are wood carvings on the altarpiece, pulpit, lectern and west gallery.

Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Bø:
 * 🇸🇪 Bengtsfors, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
 * 🇫🇮 Puumala, Eastern Finland, Finland

Notable people

 * Johan Henrik Rye (1787–1868), a military officer, jurist, and President of the Storting
 * Jon Eriksson Helland (1790 in Bø – 1862), a Norwegian Hardanger fiddle maker
 * Olaf Rye (1791 in Bø – 1849), a Norwegian-Danish military officer
 * Nils Nilsen Ronning (1870 in Bø – 1962), an American author, journalist, and editor
 * Olav Gunnarsson Helland (1875 in Bø – 1946), a Norwegian Hardanger fiddle maker
 * Neri Valen (1893 in Bø – 1954), a politician who was Mayor of Bø in 1922
 * Halvor Vreim (1894 in Bø – 1966), an architect, saved old wooden buildings
 * Olav Kielland (1901–1985 in Bø), a composer and conductor who lived in Bø from 1955
 * Hallvard Eika (1920–1989), a politician who was Mayor of Bø from 1967–1970
 * Halvor Kleppen (born 1947 in Bø), a media personality, theme park owner, and writer
 * Geir Barvik (born 1958 in Bø), a civil servant who was the managing director of the Norwegian State Housing Bank until 2010
 * Margunn Bjørnholt (born 1958 in Bø), a Norwegian sociologist, economist, and academic
 * John-Arne Røttingen (born 1969 in Bø), a medical scientist who was CEO of the Research Council of Norway
 * Varg Vikernes (born 1973), a musician, writer, and convicted murderer who lived in Bø after his release from prison
 * Øyvind Storesund (born 1975 in Bø), a rock and jazz musician who plays the upright bass
 * Håkon Anton Fagerås, (grew up in Bø), a sculptor
 * Webjørn S. Espeland, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1979 in Bø), a radio personality

Sport

 * Anders Haugen (1888 in Bø – 1984), an American ski jumper bronze medallist at the 1924 Winter Olympics
 * Hans Kleppen (1907 in Bø – 2009), a ski jumper who participated in the 1928 Winter Olympics
 * Runar Steinstad (born 1967 in Bø), a paralympian athlete and bronze medallist at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
 * Elbasan Rashani (born 1993), a Kosovan professional footballer with over 200 club caps who grew up in Bø