Bodø Town History

Day 1, 17.11.2015

On the first day of our third module of Adventure Knowledge we visited the Nordland Museum in Bodø and had a look at some of the main buildings concerning architecture.

The Nordland Museum is a follow up of the Nordland Fishing Museum. The current museum was built in 1903 and is one of the oldest buildings in town. The exhibition contains the history of the town Bodø, the history about the Samen in Salten, the lifestyle of the farmers and fisherman, a part of the rich birdlife in this region, the history of the fish industry on the Lofoten islands, and a big silver treasure from the Viking Age.

One part of the exhibition took all my interest, The part about the history of Bodø. Bodø was established as a town in 1816. Especially the part of Bodø history while World War II took my attention. I am a quite a big fan of history. Maybe thats why it fascinates me so much. Bodø was nearly destroyed by german bombers on the 27.05.1940. 400 of all 600 buildings where destroyed in 2 and a half hours. The town was one of the worst hit towns in Nordland. It had to be built up again from scratch with swedish support. After war a new great period of growth started for the town again. After the Second World War the armed forces played a big role in Bodø. During the Cold War Bodø gained military importance. The western powers lead by America feared a soviet arming on the Kola-Peninsula. Therefore the NATO invested a huge buzz of money into the extension of Bodø's military airport.

Bodø has still today a very huge importance for the NATO. 

I really enjoyed the first day at the museum and the tour through the city. I see the city now with different eyes. I never had the idea that Bodø had such a rich history.