Northern Norway

Northern Norway is a beautiful and special part of Norway, made up of three northern counties: Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark. Together, these areas cover about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the biggest towns here include Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø, and Alta.

This area is famous for two amazing natural wonders: the midnight sun and the northern lights. The midnight sun is when the sun stays up all night during summer, and the northern lights are beautiful lights that dance in the sky at night during winter.

Northern Norway is also home to many different groups of people. Besides Norwegians, you can find the indigenous Sami people, Norwegian Finns known as Kvens, and some Russian communities, especially in a town called Kirkenes. While most people speak the Norwegian language, some Sami people speak their own language, especially in certain areas. There are also a few places where Finnish is spoken.

Geography

Northern Norway covers about a third of Norway. The southern part, called Helgeland, has many islands and interesting mountain shapes, like Mount Torghatten. The land here has forests and tall mountains, with some of the biggest rivers being the Vefsna and the Ranelva. The highest mountain is Oksskolten, which rises very high above sea level.

The Lofoten islands rise out of the ocean and have flat areas good for sheep. Troms has green spaces and forests, with big islands like Senja. Finnmark has fjords, glaciers, and a wide, open area called Finnmarksvidda with many lakes and rivers. The northern tip of Europe is found here at Knivskjellodden.

History

The oldest known culture in this area is called the Komsa culture, named after a mountain in Alta. People may have arrived 12,000–13,000 years ago, though it is unclear if they came from southern Norway or from the Kola Peninsula. Today, rock carvings at Hjemmeluft in Alta or at Leknes in Nordland show images from the Stone Age, like reindeer swimming across fjords. A key area between the river Tana and the fjord of Varanger was important for reindeer moving between summer and winter areas. The ethnic background of these early cultures is still debated.

The Sami culture goes back at least 2,000 years. There is also evidence of farming from the Bronze Age, about 2,500 years ago, in places like Steigen Municipality and Sømna Municipality. In 2009, researchers found evidence of barley grown in Kvæfjord Municipality near Harstad from 1000 BC. Larger settlements by people from Germanic areas happened around 200–300 AD, mostly along the coast up to Tromsø. These groups traded and married, though their relationship remains discussed.

During the Viking Age, leaders along the coast were very important in Norway’s history, often opposing the unification of Norway. The journey of Ottar from Hålogaland was recorded by King Alfred the Great in Wessex. Leaders like Hårek from Tjøtta and Tore Hund, who killed Saint Olav at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, were key figures. The poet Øyvind Skaldespiller was the first to gain international praise for his work. This time of strong local leaders was later replaced by a more centralized Norwegian state, which focused more on the southern areas.

In the Middle Ages, churches and forts were built along the coast to strengthen Norway’s claim to this area. By 1150, Lenvik Church was the northernmost church in Norway. In 1252, the first church was built in Tromsø, with a small wall for defense. Vardø Church was built in 1307, followed by Vardøhus Fortress to protect the border with lands controlled by the Novgorod Republic. Around this time, fishing for cod grew, and dried cod was sent from Bergen to many parts of the world, bringing wealth to the north.

In the 1600s, falling fish prices and unfair trade rules from Bergen caused many people to leave, and poverty grew. The Sami culture became more visible again as it did not depend as much on fish trade. After 1700, traders from Russia called Pomors came each summer to exchange grain for fish, which helped many coastal communities survive. In the 1740s, people began moving to Northern Norway from Finland. In 1789, the trade rules changed, allowing new towns like Hammerfest and Vardø to grow, followed by Tromsø in 1794. The Hurtigruten shipping route began in 1893, improving travel. In 1906, iron mines opened in Kirkenes.

After World War II, Norway worked hard to rebuild towns and improve fishing and farming. In 1946, large steel factories were built in Mo i Rana, starting industrial growth. Airports were built in places like Bodø and Tromsø, and the University of Tromsø opened in 1972. Efforts were made to support the Sami language and culture, including opening the Norwegian Sami parliament, Samediggi, in 1989.

Languages

The Northern Norwegian dialects have a unique, musical way of sounding that differs from the dialects in southern Norway. There are many differences in sounds, grammar, and words among these dialects. The dialects spoken in the southern parts of Northern Norway, like in Helgeland and Salten, are quite different from others. In Finnmark, the dialects are closer to standard written Norwegian, especially in areas where schools helped people learn it during the 1900s. Some valleys in Troms still have dialects that sound a bit like those from southern Norway because people from there settled there long ago.

Sami is spoken in three main ways: Southern Sami south of the Arctic Circle, Lule Sami between Bodø and Narvik, and Northern Sami elsewhere. Northern Sami is the most used today, especially in places like Gáivuotna Municipality, Kautokeino Municipality, Karasjok Municipality, Porsanger Municipality, Tana Municipality, and Nesseby Municipality.

Finnish spoken in some western areas of Northern Norway is different but still understandable to people from Finland. Around Vadsø and Kirkenes, Finnish sounds more like standard Finnish. Finnish is also an official language in Porsanger municipality along with Sami and Norwegian.

The coastal areas of Northern Norway share many similarities with Western Norway, including their landscape, fishing traditions, and some aspects of their dialects. In the past, a special mix of Russian and Norwegian called Russenorsk was used for trading between Russian traders and Norwegian fishermen.

Cuisine

Northern Norway is surrounded by rich seas, so seafood is a big part of its traditional food. For thousands of years, people have also grown food in some areas, like Helgeland, Salten, Lofoten, and Harstad-Kvæfjord. Besides fishing, families usually had small farms with a few cows, sheep, or goats, and small grain fields, mostly barley. Potatoes became important food after they were introduced from the Americas.

In winter, codfish comes to the coast to lay eggs, especially at the Lofoten fisheries. Mølja, boiled codfish with liver and roe, is a special dish served in fine restaurants today. In summer, coalfish or saithe is often cooked on the beach, boiled in seawater over a fire, or fried. Halibut is a traditional Christmas meal. Fish is usually served simply with boiled potatoes, carrots, and sometimes fried bacon. Other fish traditions include lutefisk and boknafisk, made from stockfish. Seawolf and rose fish are also enjoyed.

Shellfish and prawns used to be considered just bait, but now they are popular along the coast. Large Red king crabs are now served in top restaurants. Whale meat is usually served as steaks, and seals are eaten, especially as "Barents ham." Reindeer is often served as finnebiff, thin slices in a cream sauce, and has become popular in high-end restaurants. Lamb meat from sheep following the snow line is highly valued. Game meat includes mountain hare, rock ptarmigan, willow grouse, and moose.

Dairy foods like waffles, pancakes, and rømmegrøt (sour-cream porridge) are popular. Local specialties include goat cheese from Balsfjord Municipality, Blanklefse and other types of lefse from Helgeland, and traditional Sami reindeer dishes.

Wild berries such as cloudberry, bilberries, lingonberry, and raspberry are used in marmalade, desserts, and cakes. Mushrooms are also common in forests from late July to September. Gardens grow rhubarb, redcurrant, blackcurrant, rutabaga, and sometimes cabbage. Locally grown strawberries have become popular, with the long daylight helping them to taste better.

Climate

Northern Norway has many different climates. In places like Finnmark’s interior and some valleys in Troms, winters are very cold and there is less rain than along the coast.

There are big changes in daylight from winter to summer. In Nordkapp, the midnight sun shines from May 11 to July 31, and the sun does not rise from November 19 to January 22. For Tromsø, the midnight sun is from May 17 to July 25, and the sun does not rise from November 26 to January 15. In Bodø, the midnight sun is seen from May 30 to July 12. Even in the dark winter months, there is still some light around noon in places like Tromsø. The Aurora Borealis can be seen from autumn until mid-April. This beautiful light show happens when particles from the sun hit Earth’s atmosphere and create colorful patterns in the sky.

The coast of Helgeland in southern Nordland and some islands north have milder winters and warmer summers. Further north along the coast, winters are a bit colder but summers are still warm. Most of Northern Norway has cold winters and warm summers, but some inland areas are much colder. The mountains and high lands have very cold, icy conditions.

Winter temperatures along the coast of Nordland and Vesterålen are just above freezing. Inland Finnmark can stay below freezing for seven months. In Tromsø, winter temperatures are below freezing for four to five months.

Summer temperatures depend more on how far north you are. The southern coast of Nordland has four months of summer, while places like Kirkenes and Vadsø only have two months of summer. The warmest days are usually in inland valleys and sheltered fjords.

Rain and snow fall in all seasons. Winter snow is common, but the Nordland coast often has rain. The mountains can get more than three meters of snow, which is why there are so many glaciers in Nordland and Troms. Autumn is usually the wettest season, especially along the coast. Some inland valleys get very little rain. The wettest places are in the Helgeland region, where some areas get almost three meters of rain each year.

Towns

See also: Demographics of Northern Norway

Here are some of the main towns in Northern Norway, listed by how many people live in them:

• Tromsø
• Bodø

Smaller towns with fewer than 30,000 people include:

• Harstad
• Mo i Rana
• Narvik
• Alta
• Mosjøen
• Hammerfest
• Fauske
• Sandnessjøen
• Vadsø

Very small towns with fewer than 5,000 people are:

• Sortland
• Brønnøysund
• Svolvær
• Finnsnes
• Kirkenes
• Stokmarknes
• Honningsvåg
• Leknes
• Vardø

Some places have more people than Vardø but are not officially called towns, like Rognan, Løding, Andenes, Setermoen and Skjervøy.

Transportation

Northern Norway has improved its transportation a lot in recent years. Roads connect almost every village and town. Important roads include the E6, E10, and E8. Some roads are special tourist routes because of their beautiful scenery.

There are airports in places like Tromsø, Bodø, Evenes, Alta, Kirkenes, and Bardufoss with flights to Oslo airport. Smaller airports serve nearby towns. Trains run from Bodø, Fauske, Mo i Rana, and Mosjøen south to Trondheim, and from Narvik east to Sweden. The Hurtigruten ship stops at many ports in the area.

Sport

Northern Norway has a rich tradition of sports. The Northern Norwegian Cup was a football tournament that took place from 1929 to 1969. Today, the top men's football league in Norway, the Eliteserien, includes two teams from this region: FK Bodø/Glimt and Tromsø IL. In women's football, IK Grand Bodø and Medkila IL compete in the second tier of the league.

Ice hockey fans can watch Narvik IK in the second-tier league. Basketball is also popular, with teams like the Tromsø Storm and Harstad Vikings playing in the league.

The region also hosts exciting events like the Arctic Race of Norway, a cycling race, and the Tromsø Midnight Sun Marathon, a marathon held under the midnight sun.

Notable people

• Harald "Dutte" Berg (born 1941), a football player
• Mari Boine (born 1956), a Sámi joik/folk singer from Karasjok
• Petter Dass (1647–1707), a Norwegian poet from Alstahaug Municipality
• Ailo Gaup (born 1980), a FMX World Champion from Tromsø
• Mads Gilbert, a professor of emergency medicine from Tromsø
• Knut Hamsun (1859–1952), an author and Nobel laureate from Hamarøy
• Helmer Hanssen (1870–1956), an explorer with Amundsen's team to the South Pole in 1911 from Bjørnskinn Municipality
• Geir Lundestad (born 1945), the director of the Nobel Institute and professor of history from Bodø
• Lene Marlin (born 1980), a singer and songwriter, from Tromsø
• Morten Gamst Pedersen (born 1981), a football player from Vadsø Municipality
• The Röyksopp band duo Torbjørn Brundtland (born 1975) and Svein Berge, from Tromsø Municipality
• Trond Sollied (born 1959), a football manager who was ranked as the ninth best manager in 2006
• Iselin Steiro (born 1985), a supermodel from Harstad
• Otto Sverdrup, an Arctic explorer from Bindal Municipality