The 289-square-kilometre (112 sq mi) 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'spopulation density is 3.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.6/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 8.4% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
The municipality is named after the island ofDyrøya, which is connected with the mainland with the modernDyrøy Bridge. Most people, however, don't live on the island, but live in Brøstadbotn on the mainland.[7]
The municipality of Dyrøy was established on 1 September 1886, when it was separated fromTranøy Municipality. The initial population of Dyrøy was 1,281. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of theSchei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the parts of Tranøy Municipality located on the mainland (population: 382) were transferred to Dyrøy.[8]
On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formedTroms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the oldTroms county.[9] On 1 January 2024, theTroms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part ofTroms county.[10]
The municipality (originally theparish) is named after the island ofDyrøya (Old Norse:Dýrøy) since the firstDyrøy Church was built there. The first element isdýr which means "wildanimal", here likely referring todeer orreindeer. The last element isøy which means "island".[11][12] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelledDyrø. On 6 January 1908, aroyal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality toDyrøy, to give the name a moreNorwegian and lessDanish spelling due toNorwegian language reforms.[13]
Thecoat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The officialblazon is"Azure, a foxstatantargent" (Norwegian:I blått en stående sølv rev). This means the arms have a bluefield (background) and thecharge is a locally-bredplatinum fox. The fox has atincture ofargent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. Thefur industry has had a long tradition in Dyrøy and in the 1930s, a special sort ofarctic fox was bred there which was called the platinum fox. The arms were designed by Svein A. Berntsen.[14][15][16][17]
The municipality is located on the island ofDyrøya and the mainland area to the east, with theDyrøy Bridge connecting the island to the mainland. TheVågsfjorden,Tranøyfjorden, andSolbergfjorden 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 centerBrøstadbotn. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,240.51-metre (4,069.9 ft) tall mountainLøksetinden, on the border withSalangen Municipality in the south.[1]
Themunicipal council(Kommunestyre) 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 politicalparty.
Themayor (Norwegian:ordfører) 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:[39]
^Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024)."kommunestyre".Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved31 December 2024.