Dyrøy

Dyrøy is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Brøstadbotn. Other villages include Dyrøyhamn, Espenes, Holm, and Hundstrand.

The 289 km2 municipality is the 270th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Dyrøy is the 328th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,056. The municipality's population density is 3.8 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 11.3% over the previous 10-year period.

The municipality is named after the island of Dyrøya, which is connected with the mainland with the modern Dyrøy Bridge. Most people, however, don't live on the island, but live in Brøstadbotn on the mainland.

General information
The municipality of Dyrøy was established on 1 September 1886, when it was separated from Tranøy Municipality. The initial population of Dyrøy was 1,281. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the parts of Tranøy Municipality located on the mainland (population: 382) were transferred to Dyrøy.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county. On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Dyrøya (Dýrøy) since the first Dyrøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "wild animal", here likely referring to deer or reindeer. The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Dyrø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Dyrøy, to give the name a more Norwegian and less Danish spelling due to Norwegian language reforms.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Azure, a fox statant argent" (I blått en stående sølv rev). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a locally-bred platinum fox. The fox 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 fur industry has had a long tradition in Dyrøy and in the 1930s, a special sort of arctic fox was bred there which was called the platinum fox. The arms were designed by Svein A. Berntsen.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Dyrøy. It is part of the Senja prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Geography
The municipality is located on the island of Dyrøya and the mainland area to the east, with the Dyrøy Bridge connecting the island to the mainland. The Vågsfjorden, Tranøyfjorden, and Solbergfjorden flow along the western and northern border of the municipality.

The municipality is mountainous with a narrow beach area along the coast. On the mainland, the Bjørkebakkdalen valley leads south from the municipal center Brøstadbotn. The municipality has several peaks over 1000 m, the highest being the 1237 m tall Løksetind on the border with Salangen in the south.

Government
All municipalities in Norway are 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 Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Dyrøy is made up of 15 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 mayors (ordfører) of Dyrøy (incomplete list):
 * 1995-2011: Rolf Espenes (Ap)
 * 2011-2015: Randi Lillegård (Ap)
 * 2015-2023: Marit Alvig Espenes (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Kjell-Sverre Myrvoll (Sp)