Bodin

Bodin is a parish and former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 672 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1968. It was a large municipality encompassing all of the mainland area around the town of Bodø and part of the land on the southern shore of the Saltfjorden. The municipality also included over 100 km2 of islands, notably the islands of Helligvær, Landegode, Bliksvær, and Givær plus numerous others. In all there were over 700 islands, islets, and skerries in Bodin Municipality. All of what was Bodin Municipality now lies entirely inside the present-day Bodø Municipality.

The present-day parish of Bodin represents the mainland area immediately surrounding the town of Bodø and the western islands. The main church for the parish is the historic Bodin Church.

History
The municipality of Bodø landdistrikt was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It included the rural areas surrounding the town of Bodø. In 1896, the name of the municipality was changed to Bodin. On 1 July 1938, an area of Bodin (population: 559) was transferred to the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1959, another area of Bodin (population: 1,303) was transferred to the town of Bodø. On 1 January 1963, an area of Skjerstad (population: 224) was transferred to Bodin Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the majority of the municipality of Kjerringøy (population: 524) and the Øyjord area of Sørfold Municipality (population: 81) were merged into Bodin. Then on 1 January 1968, the municipality of Bodin (population: 13,323) was merged with the town of Bodø (population: 14,252) to create a new, much larger, Bodø Municipality. Upon merging, Bodin had a population of 13,323 and Bodø had a population of 14,252.

Name
Until 1896, the name of the municipality was Bodø landdistrikt, meaning "the rural district of Bodø". The town of Bodø is named after the old Bodøgård farm meaning "the farm (gård) of Bodø". The Old Norse form of the farm's name was Boðin or Boðvin, and the municipality (originally the parish) was named after it because the first church (Bodin Church) was built on its ground. The meaning of the first element is, maybe, boði which means "skerry". The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". In 1896, the municipality was renamed Bodin which is a more modern version of the older Old Norse form Boðvin.

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 elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Bodin was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Bodin:


 * 1838–1840: Fredrik Ludvig Møller
 * 1840–1842: Marcus Fredrik Steen
 * 1842–1844: Jacob B. L. Tohrsen
 * 1844–1848: Jacob Coldevin
 * 1848–1852: Eiler Hagerup Krog Prytz Sr.
 * 1852–1856: Jacob Coldevin
 * 1856–1858: Peter Holm
 * 1858–1866: E. Boye
 * 1867–1868: Johan Andreassen
 * 1869–1874: Christen Evjenth
 * 1875–1880: Peter Johannes Engen
 * 1881–1883: Wilhelm August Kiønig
 * 1884–1889: M. Lundeberg
 * 1890–1892: Ole Anderssen
 * 1892–1894: Karl Løkke
 * 1895–1898: Olaus Holter
 * 1899–1901: Gustav Theodor Baumann (V)
 * 1902–1904: L.K. Christie
 * 1904–1909: Haakon Evjenth
 * 1909–1928: Ole Løkke
 * 1929–1931: Arnt Gurnerius Holm (FV)
 * 1932–1940: Severin Edvardsson
 * 1941-1941: S.U. Johansen (NS)
 * 1941–1944: Halvdan Zahl (NS)
 * 1944–1945: Fredrik Korsvik Rasmussen (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Severin Edvardsson
 * 1946–1951: Gregorius Honstad
 * 1952–1955: Hans Berg (KrF)
 * 1956–1959: Edgar Gundersen
 * 1960–1963: Odd Henning Grønmo
 * 1964–1968: Henry Forsaa (Ap)

Notable people

 * Adelsteen Normann (1848-1918), a painter
 * Reidar Carlsen (1908- 1987), a politician for the Labour Party of Norway