Dyrøy Municipality

Dyrøy (Template:Langx) 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 Template:Convert municipality is the 270th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Dyrøy Municipality is the 330th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,069. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has decreased by 8.4% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

General information

View of a farm in Dyrøy

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="snl5">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Dyrøya (Template:Langx) since the first Dyrøy Church was built there. The first element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "wild animal", here likely referring to deer or reindeer. The last element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "island".<ref name="snl">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Azure, a fox statant argent" (Template:Langx). 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:See also-text

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (Template:Lang) within Dyrøy Municipality. It is part of the Senja prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Churches in Dyrøy Municipality

Parish (Template:Lang)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Dyrøy	Dyrøy Church	Holm	1880
	Brøstad Chapel	Brøstadbotn	1937

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 highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Løksetinden, on the border with Salangen Municipality in the south.<ref name="elev" />

Government

Dyrøy Municipality is 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.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite SNL</ref> 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 Template:Lang of Dyrøy Municipality 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. Template:Div col Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Div col end

Mayors

Template:Incomplete list The mayor (Template:Langx) of Dyrøy Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

• 1971–1975: Leif Bakkejord (Ap)
• 1975–1979: Ole Jakobsen (Ap)
• 1979–1983: Magnar Hals (Sp)
• 1983–1995: Ole Jakobsen (Ap)
• 1995–2011: Rolf Espenes (Ap)
• 2011–2015: Randi Lillegård (Ap)
• 2015–2023: Marit Alvig Espenes (Ap)
• 2023–2024: Kjell-Sverre Myrvoll (Sp)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2024–present: Marit Alvig Espenes (Ap)

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway