The county was formerly known as Finmarkens amt or Vardøhus amt. Starting in 2002, it had two official names: Finnmark (Norwegian) and Finnmárku (Northern Sami). It was part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, and is the largest and least populated county of Norway.
Situated at the northernmost part of continental Europe, where the Norwegian coastline swings eastward, Finnmark is an area "where East meets West," in culture as well as in nature and geography. Vardø, the easternmost municipality in Norway, is located farther east than the cities of St. Petersburg and Istanbul.
Four municipalities (of the district's 18) had population increases during Q1 in 2021: Alta, Tana, Berlevåg, Loppa.[7]
The name, Finnmark, derives from the Old Norse form of the name was Finnmǫrk. The first element is finn(ar), the Norse name for the Sámi people. The last element is mǫrk which means "woodland" or "borderland". In Norse times the name referred to the land of the Sami people, or any places where Sámi people were living.[8]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms is black with a gold-colored castle tower, technically described as "Sable, a single-towered castle Or". The design is from 1967 and shows the old Vardøhus Fortress, historically on the eastern border with Russia.[9]
Finnmark is the northernmost and easternmost county in Norway (Svalbard is not considered a county). By area, Finnmark is Norway's largest county, even larger than the neighboring country of Denmark. However, with a population of about 75,000, it is also the least populated of all Norwegian counties. Finnmark has a total coastline of 6,844 kilometres (4,253mi), including 3,155 kilometres (1,960mi) of coastline on the islands. Nearly 12,300 people or 16.6 percent of the county's population in 2000 was living in the 100-meter belt along the coastline.
The coast is indented by large fjords, many of which (in a strict sense) are false fjords, as they are not carved out by glaciers. Some of Norway's largest sea bird colonies can be seen on the northern coast, the largest are Hjelmsøystauran on the island of Hjelmsøya in Måsøy Municipality and Gjesværstappan in Nordkapp Municipality. The highest point is located on the top of the glacierØksfjordjøkelen, which has an area of 45 square kilometres (17sqmi), and it is located in Loppa Municipality. Both Øksfjordjøkelen and Seiland Glacier are located in the western part of Finnmark.
The Øksfjord plateau glaciercalved directly into the sea (Jøkelfjorden) until 1900, the last glacier in mainland Norway to do so. The central and eastern part of Finnmark is generally less mountainous, and has no glaciers. The land east of Nordkapp is mostly below 300m (980ft).
The nature varies from barren coastal areas facing the Barents Sea, to more sheltered fjord areas and river valleys with gullies and tree vegetation. About half of the county is above the tree line, and large parts of the other half is covered with small Downy birch.
The most lush areas are the Alta area and the Tana valleys, and in the east is the lowland area in the Pasvik valley in Sør-Varanger, where the pine and Siberianspruce forest is considered part of the Russian taiga vegetation. This valley has the highest density of Brown bears in Norway, and is the only location in the country with a population of musk-rats. Lynx and moose are common in large parts of Finnmark, but rare on the coast.
Map showing coastline and rivers. The largest river, slightly to the right, is Tana, and slightly to the left is Alta-Kautokeino river. Down to the right is lake Inari (Finland) from which goes the Pasvik valley of the Pasvikelva river. Near the far left corner of the map is the green Målselv valley of Troms, with the Målselva river.
The interior parts of the county are part of the great Finnmarksvidda plateau, with an elevation of 300 to 400m (980 to 1,310ft), with numerous lakes and river valleys. The plateau is famous for its tens of thousands of reindeer owned by the Sami, and swarms of mosquitos in mid-summer. Finnmarksvidda makes up 36% of the county's area. Stabbursdalen National Park ensures protection for the world's most northernpine forest.
The Tana River, which partly defines the border with Finland, gives the largest catch of salmon of all rivers in Europe, and also has the world record for Atlantic salmon, 36kg (79lb). In the east, the Pasvikelva defines the border with Russia.
The Finnmarksvidda plateau in the interior of the county has a continental climate with the coldest winter temperatures in Norway: the coldest temperature ever recorded was −51.4°C (−60.5°F) in Karasjok on 1 January 1886. The 24-hour averages for January and July at the same location are −17.1°C (1.2°F) and 13.1°C (55.6°F), the annual average is −2.4°C (27.7°F), and precipitation is only 366 millimetres (14.4in) per year with summer as the wettest season.[10] Karasjok has recorded up to 32.4°C (90.3°F) in July, giving a possible year amplitude of 84°C (151°F) (rare in Europe). Finnmarksvidda has annual mean temperatures down to −3°C (27°F) (Sihcajavri in Kautokeino), the coldest in mainland Norway (except for higher mountain areas) and even colder than Jan Mayen and Bear Island. However, Sihcajavri has also recorded 34.3°C (93.7°F) on 23 June 1920.
Due to the proximity to the ice-free ocean, winters are much milder in coastal areas (and more windy); Loppa Municipality has average January and July temperatures of −2°C (28°F) and 11.6°C (52.9°F) respectively, with an annual mean of 3.6°C (38.5°F),[11] despite being further north. Average annual precipitation is 914 millimetres (36.0in) and the wettest season is September until December. The year average temperature difference between Loppa and Karasjok (6°C) is comparable to the difference between Loppa and London.[12]
In the Köppen climate classification, the climate in Karasjok–and most of the lowland areas in Finnmark–corresponds to the Dfc category (subarctic climate), while the Loppa climate corresponds to the Cfc category. The northeastern coast, from Nordkapp east to Vardø, have arctictundra climate (Köppen: ET), as the average July temperature is below 10°C (50°F).
Kjøllefjord on the northeastern coast
Furthermore, elevations exceeding approximately 100 to 200 metres (330 to 660ft) in coastal areas in western Finnmark and 300 to 500 metres (980 to 1,640ft) in the interior result in an alpine climate, and in the northeast this merges with the Arctic tundra climate.
The climate in sheltered parts of fjord areas (particularly the Altafjorden) is usually considered the most hospitable: winters are not as cold as in the interior, and summer warmth is comparable. Even if winter temperatures are milder in coastal areas, the coast is more exposed to winter storms, which often complicate or shut down road and air communications.
Situated far north of the Arctic Circle, Finnmark has midnight sun from the middle of May until late July. Conversely, in two months of the winter, from late November to late January, the county experiences polar nights where the sun is always below the horizon. As a consequence, there is continuous daylight from early May to early August. At midwinter, there is only a bluish twilight for a couple of hours around noon, which can almost reach full daylight if there are clear skies to the south.
Northern lights
Finnmark is situated in the Aurora Borealis zone, and because of the dry climate with frequent clear skies, Alta Municipality was early chosen as a location for the study of this strange light phenomenon. For this reason, Alta is sometimes referred to as the city of the northern lights.
Fisheries have traditionally been the most important way of living along the coast, where the majority of the Norwegian population live. The red king crab, originally from the northern Pacific ocean but brought to the Barents sea by the Russians, have invaded from the east and are now being exploited commercially (especially in the Varangerfjord). To prevent the crab from spreading too far south, crab fishing west of Nordkapp is totally unregulated.
The slate industry in Alta is well known and have sold to customers as far away as Japan. Kirkenes grew into a town as the exploitation of the ironores started, but AS Sydvaranger closed down their iron ore activities in 1996.
In more recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with the North Cape (in Nordkapp) and the towns of Alta and Hammerfest as the most important destinations.
The town of Hammerfest is experiencing an economic boom as a consequence of Statoil's construction of the large land-based LNG site on the island of Melkøya,[13][14] which gets natural gas from the Snøhvit undersea gas field. A new oil field was discovered in 2009 just 45km (28mi) off shore,[15][16] close to the Snøhvit field.
There is optimism in the eastern part of the county, as the growing petroleum activity in the Barents Sea is expected to generate increased economic activity on land as well.[17]
Until 2006, Statskog, the Norwegian state-owned agency responsible for the management of state owned forest and mountain real estate, owned about 95% of the land in Finnmark county. On 1 July 2006, the Finnmark Estate agency took over the ownership and management of that land in Finnmark. The Finnmark Estate was governed in tandem by the Finnmark County Municipality and the Sami Parliament of Norway. The Sami Parliament of Norway is based in the village of Karasjok.
People have lived in Finnmark for at least 10,000 years (see Komsa, Pit-Comb Ware culture and Rock carvings at Alta). The destiny of these early cultures is unknown. Three ethnic groups have a long history in Finnmark: the Sami people, the Norwegian people, and the Kven people. Of these, the Sami probably were the first people to explore Finnmark. Ohthere of Hålogaland was an adventurous Norwegian (Norseman) from Hålogaland, the area roughly corresponding to today's Nordland county. Around 890 AD, he claimed, according to historical sources (see Ohthere of Hålogaland) that he lived "north-most of all the Northmen", and that "no one [lived] to the north of him." Later, Norwegians in the 14th century, and Kvens in the 16th century, settled along the coast. See the articles on Kven people and Vardøhus Fortress for more details.
The Sami are the indigenous people of Finnmark, but Norwegians have lived for hundreds of years on the islands' outer parts, where they made up the majority. The Sami people still constitute the majority in Finnmark's interior parts, while the fjord areas have been ethnically mixed for a long time. This essentially holds true today.
The Sami were for many years victims of the Norwegianization policy, which in essence was an attempt by the government to make them "true Norwegians" and forget about their Sami way of life and religion, which was seen as inferior. As a result, the Sami living at the coast and in the fjords gradually lost much of their culture and often felt ashamed by their Sami inheritance. The Sami in the interior managed to preserve more of their culture. In the 1970s, instruction of the Sami language started in schools, and a new sense of consciousness started to grow among the Sami; today most are proud of their background and culture.
In the midst of this awakening (1979), Norway's government decided to build a dam in Alta to produce hydropower, provoking many Sami and environmentalists to demonstrations and civil disobedience (Altasaken). In the end, the dam was built on a much smaller scale than originally intended and the Sami culture was on the government's agenda. The Sami parliament (Sámediggi) was opened in Karasjok in 1989.
Norwegian
A Dutch map of Finnmark (1660), showing the border between Norway, Sweden and Russia.
Gjesvær in Nordkapp is mentioned in the Sagas (Heimskringla) as a northern harbor in the Viking Age, especially used by Vikings on the way to Bjarmaland (see Ottar from Hålogaland), and probably also for gathering food in the nearby seabird colony. Coastal areas of Finnmark were colonized by Norwegians beginning in the 10th century, and there are stories describing clashes with the Karelians. Border skirmishes between the Norwegians and Novgorodians continued until 1326, when the Treaty of Novgorod settled the issue.
The first known fortification in Finnmark is Vardøhus festning, first erected in 1306 by King Haakon V Magnusson. This is the world's most northern fortress. In the 17th century, 88 young women were burned as witches in Vardø, an extremely high number compared to the total population in this area at the time.[22] However, the first person burned as witch in Vardø in the 17th century was not a woman, but a man. [Vardø archives]
Finnmark first became subject to increased colonization in the 18th and 19th century. Norway, Sweden, and Russia all claimed control over this area. Finland was part of Russia at that time and had no independent representative. Finnmark was given the status of an Amt (county) in the 19th century. For a time, there was a vibrant trade with Russia (Pomor trade), and many Norwegians settled on the Kola Peninsula (see Kola Norwegians).
The FinnicKven residents of Finnmark are largely descendants of Finnish-speaking immigrants who arrived in the area in the 18th century from Meänmaa, and later in the 19th century from Finland, suffering from famine and war.[23]
Brief summary
In 1576, the King of Norway established Vardøhus len as a new administrative unit for the kingdom. In 1660, it became Vardøhus amt, a subordinate to the large Trondhjems stiftamt, based in Trondheim. In 1787, the island of Senja and the Troms area were transferred from Nordlandenes amt to Vardøhus amt. In 1866, the island of Senja and the Troms area were separated from Vardøhus to form the new Tromsø amt. In 1919, the name was again changed to Finnmark fylke. In 2002, the Sami language name, Finnmárku, was added as a co-official name for the county.
Per Fugelli has said that World War II resulted in many persons acquiring psychiatric disorders (psykiske senskadene) which could be from experiencing "bombing, accidents involving mines, burning down of homes, forcible evacuation, illness and starvation during the war and liberation. But it was maybe in particular the treatment of Russian prisoners that left marks on the local population."[24]
World War II
Towards the end of World War II, with Operation Nordlicht, the Germans used the scorched earth tactic in Finnmark and northern Troms to halt the Red Army. As a consequence of this, few houses survived the war, and a large part of the population was forcefully evacuated further south (Tromsø was crowded), but many people avoided evacuation by hiding in caves and mountain huts and waited until the Germans were gone, then inspected their burned homes. There were 11,000 houses, 4,700 cow sheds, 106 schools, 27 churches, and 21 hospitals burned. There were 22,000 communications lines destroyed, roads were blown up, boats destroyed, animals killed, and 1,000 children separated from their parents.[25]
However, after taking the town of Kirkenes on 25 October 1944 (as the first town in Norway), the Red Army did not attempt further offensives in Norway. Free Norwegian forces arrived from Britain and liberated the rest of the county. When war was over, more than 70,000 people were left homeless in Finnmark. The government imposed a temporary ban on residents returning to Finnmark because of the danger of landmines. The ban lasted until the summer of 1945 when evacuees were told that they could finally return home.[citation needed]
Fra Hammerfest by Peder Balke (1851)Neiden in Sør-Varanger
Cold War
The Cold War was a period with sometimes high tension in eastern Finnmark, at the 196-kilometre (122mi) long border with the Soviet Union. To keep tensions from getting too high, Norway declared that no NATO exercises would take place in Finnmark.[26]
Demographics
The old Stone AgeKomsa culture is very difficult to relate to the people living in Finnmark today. There are findings suggesting that the Sami people have been there for a long time, but exactly how long is unclear, some scholars [who?] claiming 8000 years but others [who?] only 2500 years. From the 10th century, the coastal areas have been populated and visited by ethnic Norwegians, and Finnmark became part of the kingdom.
The Sami core areas in Norway are in Finnmark, where they constitute about one quarter of the total population. The municipalities of Kautokeino, Karasjok, Tana, Nesseby, and Porsanger in Finnmark county; and the municipalities of Kåfjord (in Troms), Tysfjord (in Nordland), and Snåsa (in Nord-Trøndelag) also have official names in the Sami language. Most municipalities in Sápmi, however, have unofficial names in Sámi as well.
In the 18th century and the 19th century, many Finnish-speaking immigrants settled in Finnmark. Since 1996, they have had minority status as Kven people. The town of Vadsø (Kven: Vesisaari) is often seen as the "Kven capital" in Finnmark.[27]
Lakselv, in central Finnmark, is sometimes referred to as "meeting place for three tribes". After the collapse of the Soviet Union and severe economic troubles in the Russian economy during the 90s, Russian immigrants and shoppers arrived in Kirkenes. Since the beginning of the European migrant crisis many Syrian refugees arrived in Kirkenes via Russia.[28]
Related Research Articles
Troms is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by the government resulting from the 2021 Norwegian parliamentary election.
Vardø (help·info) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vardø. Two of the larger villages in the municipality are Kiberg and Svartnes.
Alta is the most populated municipality in Finnmark in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alta. Some of the main villages in the municipality include Kåfjord, Komagfjord, Kvenvik, Langfjordbotn, Leirbotn, Rafsbotn, Talvik, and Tverrelvdalen.
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Hasvik is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Breivikbotn. Other villages in the municipality include Breivik, Hasvik, and Sørvær. The population of Hasvik has generally been in steady decline due to problems within the fishing industry. Hasvik is an island municipality with no road connections to the rest of Norway. Hasvik Airport is served with regular connections to Tromsø and Hammerfest, and there is a two-hour ferry crossing to the village of Øksfjord on the mainland, providing access by car.
Porsanger is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lakselv. Other villages in the municipality include Børselv, Brenna, Indre Billefjord, Kistrand, Olderfjord, and Skoganvarre.
Karasjok is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok. Other villages include Dorvonjárga, Šuoššjávri, and Váljohka.
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Kvænangen is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Burfjord. The European route E6 highway goes through the municipality and over the Sørstraumen Bridge, and many people stop at the Kvænangsfjellet pass to view the scenery of the Kvænangen fjord.
Kirkenes is a town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsula along the Bøkfjorden, an arm of the large Varangerfjorden. The main church for Kirkenes is Kirkenes Church, located in the Haganes area of the town. Kirkenes is located just a few kilometres from the Norway-Russia border.
Norway is divided into 11 administrative regions, called counties which until 1918 were known as amter. The counties form the first-level administrative divisions of Norway and are further subdivided into 356 municipalities. The island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are outside the county division and ruled directly at the national level. The capital Oslo is considered both a county and a municipality.
Northern Norway is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø and Alta. Northern Norway is often described as the land of the midnight sun and the land of the northern lights. Further north, halfway to the North Pole, is the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, traditionally not regarded as part of Northern Norway.
Altaelva is the third-longest river in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The river begins in the mountains and lakes in Kautokeino Municipality, near the border with Troms og Finnmark county and Finland, just south of Reisa National Park. The 240-kilometre (150 mi) long river then runs northward into Alta Municipality where it flows out into the Altafjorden in the town of Alta. The river has carved out Sautso, one of the largest canyons in Europe on its way from the high Finnmarksvidda plateau down to the sea. The villages of Kautokeino and Masi are located along the river, in addition to the town of Alta.
Lakselva is a river in Troms og Finnmark county in northern Norway. It begins in Karasjok Municipality runs north through Porsanger Municipality into the Porsangerfjorden, a fjord off of the Barents Sea. The 103-kilometre (64 mi) long river runs past the village of Lakselv. The European route E06 highway runs along the river for much of its course. The river is famous for its Atlantic salmon fishing.
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Karasjok(Norwegian), Kárášjohka(Northern Sami), or Kaarasjoki(Kven) is the administrative centre of Karasjok Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along both sides of the Karasjohka river, just 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of the Norway-Finland border. The European route E06 highway runs through the village on its way from Lakselv to Tana bru and Kirkenes. The 2.19-square-kilometre (540-acre) village has a population (2017) of 1,844 which gives the village a population density of 842 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,180/sq mi).
Troms og Finnmark is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. It is the largest county by area in Norway, encompassing about 75,000 square kilometres (29,000 sq mi). It was formed by the merger of the former Finnmark and Troms counties in addition to Tjeldsund Municipality from Nordland county.
↑ politidepartementet, Justis- og (1 August 1996). "NOU 1994: 21". Regjeringen.no. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
↑ NRK (13 September 2013). "Den glemte krigen". NRK. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
↑ Zimmerman, Susan (November–December 2010). "World War II Magazine". 25 (4): 31.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
↑ German, Robert K. (1982). "Norway and the Bear: Soviet Coercive Diplomacy and Norwegian Security Policy". International Security. 7 (2): 70. doi:10.2307/2538433. JSTOR2538433. S2CID154321588.
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listen ); Northern Sami : Finnmárku [ˈfinːmaːrku] ; Kven : Finmarku; Finnish : Ruija [ˈrui̯jɑ] ; Russian : Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighboring county of Troms to form the new Troms og Finnmark county; however, on 1 January 2024, the county will be demerged back to the counties Finnmark and Troms; parliament decided that on 15 June 2022. [5] [6] [1] 
