Dyrøy

Dyrøy (Northern Sami: Divrráid suohkan) 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 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 the municipality of Tranøy. The initial population of Dyrøy was 1,281. On 1 January 1964, the parts of Tranøy on the mainland (population: 382) were transferred to Dyrøy.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Dyrøya (Old Norse: Dýrøy), since the first church (Dyrøy Church) was built there. The first element is dýr which means "deer" (specifically reindeer) and the last element is øy which means "island". Prior to 1909, the name was written Dyrø.