Bronnoysund

Brønnøysund

Brønnøysund

Town in Northern Norway

Brønnøysund (Urban East Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈbrœ̂nːœʏˌsʉn] ⓘ)[5] is a town and the administrative centre of Brønnøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is also a former municipality within Nordland county. The village of Brønnøysund originally was declared a ladested in 1923 which made it an independent municipality. After merging with Brønnøy in 1964, it lost its town status. Then in 2000, it once again received town status. The town lies along the coast and is often called "the coastal town in the middle of Norway." Brønnøysund is also the regional center of Southern Helgeland.

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The 3.38-square-kilometre (840-acre) town has a population (2018) of 5,045 and a population density of 1,493 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,870/sq mi).[2]

History

Frøkenosen estuary, Brønnøysund
Brønnøysund and the bridge to the adjacent island Torget with Torghatten

During the Viking Age, Torgar, by the foot of the legendary mountain Torghatten, was a nationally powerful chieftain seat and an important commercial center along the coast. The original inhabitants were wiped out in an outright massacre by Duke Skule and his men in the Norwegian civil wars that raged around 1240, in the high medieval era of Norway.

The region was re-populated by immigrants from Southern Norway, Trøndelag, and Sweden, which could explain the unique dialect with a Swedish-like intonation.

In May 1945 "the prisoners [foreign POWs] from Ylvingen"[6] were transported by ship from the harbour at Brønnøysund.[6] ("the song saved my life") documents the farewell to Igor Trapitsin and the other Soviet ex-POWs from the harbour at Brønnøysund.[7]

Name

The town (and former municipality) is named Brønnøysund after the small island Brønnøya (Old Norse: Brunnøy) since it is located on the island. The first element is brunnr which means "well" and the second element is øy which means "island". The final element of the name is sund which means "strait", referring to the strait of water that flows alongside the island and town. Islands with freshwater wells were important for seafarers.[8]

Municipal history

The village of Brønnøysund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1923 when it was separated from Brønnøy Municipality when it became a ladested (town) and municipality of its own. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Brønnøysund (population: 2,064) was merged with Velfjord Municipality (population: 1,380), Sømna Municipality (population: 2,347), Brønnøy Municipality (population: 2,635), and the Lande-Tosen area of Bindal Municipality to form a new, enlarged Brønnøy Municipality.[9] At that time, it lost its status as a ladested (town). In 2000, after some changes to Norwegian law, the municipality of Brønnøy designated Brønnøysund as a town once again.

Municipal council

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

More information Party name (in Norwegian), Number of representatives ...
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Economy

This building is known as Telegrafen as it originally housed the telegraph in town.

The town is the administrative and commercial centre of the municipality of Brønnøy.

In recent years, Brønnøysund has managed to create a certain economic growth. Fjord Seafood originated here, as well as the largest limestone mine in Northern Europe and the highest foodstuff production in Northern Norway are examples of entrepreneurship and well-run economy in this somewhat prosperous region. Modern agriculture, hydroponics, the large TTS transport corporation, wood processing and tourism are the main driving industries.

Transportation

Brønnøysund main street
Brønnøysund Register Centre buildings
Tårnskolen, the old school.

Brønnøysund has daily visits by the Hurtigruten (Coastal Express), northbound at night and southbound in the afternoon. It has its own airport, Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy, and a direct eastbound connection to the European route E6 highway.

Throughout Norway, the town is known as the location of the Brønnøysund Register Centre, in which the new e-government portal Altinn is the newest addition. Torghatten ASA has its headquarters in Brønnøysund.

Airport

Main article: Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy

Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy is located only about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the town centre, and is a vital communications link not only for the town, but also for a large region surrounding the town.

The airport opened in 1968, providing modern and much needed, time-effective transportation to the region, and making it possible to reach both the capital and medical services within an acceptable timeframe.

In May 2010, the direct flight to Oslo was launched, and since April 2011 there are three daily departures for Oslo with a 50-seat plane.[17] There are also connections to Sandnessjøen, Mo i Rana, Rørvik, Trondheim, and Bodø.[18]

It is served by Norway's oldest airline, Widerøe. It is also base for some of the offshore helicopter services, making it possible to exploit the vast petroleum resources offshore.

Culture

The town has a number of cultural institutions:

The NRK series Himmelblå, a franchise of the British Two Thousand Acres of Sky, was filmed in part in Brønnøysund and on various locations nearby. The local Brønnøy Church serves the town of Brønnøysund.

Geography

Southern part of Brønnøysund

Brønnøysund sits on a narrow peninsula on the mainland surrounded by islands and water. The town is connected to the island Torget by the Brønnøysund Bridge.

Climate

Brønnøysund has a temperate oceanic climate with mild winters (Koppen Cfb) considering the northerly location, and a long frost-free season. 9 of the 12 monthly all-time lows are from 1940 or older; 3 from before 1900. The coldest low after 2000 is −14.8 °C (5.4 °F) from February 2010. The all-time low −18.4 °C (−1.1 °F) was recorded in February 1966, and the all-time high 32.1 °C (89.8 °F) was set on July 27, 2019.

More information Climate data for Brønnøysund Airport 1991-2020 (9 m, precipitation 1961-90, extremes 1873-2024 includes earlier stations), Month ...
  • The 2015 documentary film Sangen reddet mitt liv[6] ("the song saved my life") documents the farewell to Igor Trapitsin and the other Soviet ex-POWs from the harbour at Brønnøysund.[7]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    In the Norwegian language, the word by can be translated as "town" or "city".
  2. [2]
    Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2018). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
  3. [3]
    "Brønnøysund, Brønnøy (Nordland)". yr.no. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. [4]
    Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  5. [5]
    Berulfsen, Bjarne (1969). Norsk Uttaleordbok (in Norwegian). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co (W Nygaard). p. 54.
  6. [6]
    "Etterlyser folk som husker krigens dager". 9 April 2011.
  7. [7]
    Guri Kulås (3 March 2015). "Ny dokumentar om sovjetisk krigsfange blir vist under filmfestivalen Kosmorama i Trondheim: Han berga seg med song". Klassekampen. pp. 28–9.
  8. [8]
    Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt (in Norwegian) (16 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 15.
  9. [9]
    Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  10. [10]
    "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  11. [11]
    "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  12. [12]
    "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  13. [13]
    "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  14. [14]
    "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  15. [15]
    "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  16. [16]
    "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1934" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1935. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  17. [17]
    Widerøe with three daily departures Brønnøysund - Oslo from April 2011
  18. [18]
    "Flight Timetables - Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy". Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  19. [19]
    "Brønnøysund Airport statistics". yr.no. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  20. [20]
    "Weatheronline climate robot (average high and low)".
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