Brønnøysund (Southern Sami: Brïenne) is a town and administration
center in Brønnøy municipality in Nordland. The city is located on
the coast and is profiled as «The coastal city in the middle of
Norway». Brønnøysund is also the regional center for Sør-Helgeland.
The town of Brønnøysund has 5,071 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020.
Brønnøysund was granted charging station status in 1923 and was
its own municipality from 1 January 1923 to 31 December 1963. From 1
January 1964, the city became an administrative center in the new
Brønnøy municipality, and at the same time lost its city status.
From the year 2000, Brønnøysund has again city status following a
decision by the municipal council. The city can celebrate its 100th
anniversary in 2023. From Brønnøysund you can see the city's famous
landmark Torghatten. The city is also known for housing most of the
state register agency Brønnøysundregistrene.
Etymology
Brønnøysund is named after the island Brønnøy, pronounced
[brønn'øye] and [bryŋŋ'øya]. The name form Brunney is written down
in 1334, from Old Norse brunnr which means "origin", "source". The
name means that seafarers could find drinking water on these
islands. It was thus originally the name of the island, where the
farm and church site Brønnøy was later laid. The name forms Brønnø
and Brønnøy have been used continuously from the entry into force of
the Presidency Act in 1838 until today. In a list from 1808, the
postal service used the name Brønøe. It was changed to Brønnø in the
postage list from 1889, and Brønnøy on 15 December 1908.