Lofoten

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Lofoten
Cirrus clouds over Lofoten
Cirrus clouds over Lofoten
Waters European Arctic Ocean
Geographical location 68 ° 20 ′  N , 14 ° 40 ′  E Coordinates: 68 ° 20 ′  N , 14 ° 40 ′  E
Map of Lofoten
Number of islands 80
Main island Austvågøya
Total land area 1227 km²
Residents 24,000
The place Reine on Lofoten
The place Reine on Lofoten

Lofoten ( North Sami : Lofuohta or Vahki ) is a region in the Norwegian province ( Fylke ) Nordland and part of a group of islands off the coast of northern Norway , consisting of about 80 islands, including Austvågøya , Skrova , Gimsøy , Vestvågøy , Flakstadøy , Moskenesøy , Værøy and Røst . The Norwegian district of Lofoten essentially comprises the archipelago.

Surname

The name means "the lynx foot" from ló , Old Norse for lynx , and foten , the foot. Lofot was the original name of Vestvågøy island .

Although the name of Lofoten in Norway in the singular is (Region Lofoten) is misleading since in colloquial German , the region often referred to as "Lofoten". The reason for this is probably that the ending -en , which represents a certain article in the Scandinavian-speaking area , reminds German speakers of a word in the plural and thus of the names of other island groups such as the Maldives or the Aleutian Islands .

In the written language and formulated grammatically correct, Lofoten is treated as a region, similar to Hesse , Pomerania and Silesia , as well as the island of Rügen , the country of Norway or the city of Gelsenkirchen in German. These places and areas ending in -en are used in the singular like Lofoten .

Many Germans also emphasize the second syllable and speak it with a long O, which reinforces the ambiguous impression of Lofoten as plural. Correctly, however, the emphasis in Norwegian is on the first syllable. Since the letter O is often pronounced like the German U in Norwegian pronunciation, the correct pronunciation for Lofoten is roughly between "Luhfottn" and "Luhfuttn".

Location and dates

Lofoten is about 100 to 300 km north of the Arctic Circle in the Atlantic , separated from the mainland by the Vestfjord . The area lies between the 67th and 68th parallel and is demarcated to the northeast by the Raftsund from the region and archipelago of Vesterålen , which is located to the north . The largest islands are connected by bridges or tunnels. One of the islands, Austvågøya , is south of Lofoten, while the northeastern part of the island belongs to Hadsel municipality and thus to Vesterålen district. The south-western tip of the island of Hinnøya is also considered part of Lofoten because it used to be only accessible by boat from Svolvær .

Administratively, the Lofoten district belongs to the Fylke (Province) Nordland . The largest city and therefore the most important place in Lofoten is Svolvær on Austvågøya. There are six municipalities in Lofoten District : Vågan , Vestvågøy , Flakstad , Moskenes , Værøy and Røst .

The Lofoten region has around 24,000 inhabitants and an area of ​​1227 km².

history

Lofoten has been populated for around 6000 years. Originally people lived there from fishing and hunting. During the Viking Age , several settlements with chiefs were formed. A replica has been rebuilt in Borg .

From the 14th century, merchants from Bergen dominated the fish trade. Lofoten belongs to Bergen for tax purposes. Depending on the size of the fishery, the people of Lofoten were doing well or badly. In the middle of the 19th century there were large herring deposits, which led to today's colonization.

places

Lofoten has two cities and several smaller Tettsteder (number of inhabitants, as of November 2019):

landscape

The mountain Vågakallen (942 m) near Kabelvåg / Lofoten

For centuries the landscape was barren and bare, there were only a few trees left because man had cut down most of the forests for building houses, ships and drying racks. In the meantime, the tree population in large parts of Lofoten has grown again considerably. Since 2018, the west coast of the southernmost island Moskenesøy and the offshore islands as Lofotodden National Park belong to the national parks in Norway .

The eastern sides of the islands are primarily populated, as the wind and swell are less powerful there - the mountains in Lofoten, which are over 1200 meters high in places, have an alpine character and keep out excessive weather influences. The tides force the water through between the individual islands with violent force, creating sometimes dangerous eddies. The best known is the so-called maelstrom or Moskenstraumen . The region is also known for the fact that the Northern Lights can be observed very well, as the winter climate is relatively mild and the Aurora- Oval crosses Lofoten. Information on the aforementioned Northern Lights can be found at the Northern Lights Center in Laukvik .

geology

Lofoten is mainly made up of old rocks, which belong to the Svekofennids and are 1.8-1.79 Ga. Most of them are charnockites , gabbros , paragneiss and isolated eclogites

These units were in the course of Svekofennischen orogeny of the Caledonian overthrust , but exhumed again.

climate

The northern foothills of the Gulf Stream ensure a relatively mild climate in Lofoten.

Long-term mean extreme temperatures and precipitation (1961–1990)
value Jan. Feb March Apr May Jun. Jul. Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Highest measured temperature (° C) 9.0 8.5 8.6 15.0 21.8 30.4 29.8 26.9 22.1 16.4 11.6 11.2
Lowest measured temperature (° C) −12.7 −15.1 −12.3 −8.5 −3.4 −1.2 3.7 3.9 −1.4 −4.5 −10.7 −15.1
Precipitation (mm) 69 53 54 47 39 42 57 60 86 117 87 91

economy

Fishing and processing

The main line of business of the "Lofotingers" is, besides tourism, fishing and the related industry. The Lofot fishing, for which hundreds of small fishing boats come together year after year, takes place from mid-January to mid-April. The main part of the catch is sexually mature cod . At its best, up to 146,000 tons of fish were landed in Lofoten in one season. In 2015, the amount of cod caught was 65,195 tons. Captured cod (as cod is also known) is processed into clipfish or stockfish ( tørrfisk ), which is primarily intended for export.

mineral oil and natural gas

Despite a moratorium on the production of oil and natural gas , geological explorations are currently being undertaken with the aim of later production.

traffic

Road and ferry traffic

Svolvær ferry port in Lofoten
Midnight sun behind mountains in Lofoten
Kabelvåg / Lofoten Church

The European route 10 starts in Å i Lofoten and after 170 km leads to Fiskebøl . There is a ferry connection to Melbu on the island of Hadseløya . From Fiskebøl the E10 continues through tunnels and over bridges to the Norwegian mainland and finally to Sweden.

There are bus connections to Vesterålen and Bodø / Fauske with a connection to the train in Bodø.

On December 1st, 2007 the mainland connection - Lofast - was opened. This leads from Fiskebøl over the island of Hinnøya to Gullesfjordbotn. For the first time in its history, Lofoten can be reached via a land connection.

The Hurtigruten ships head for Stamsund and Svolvær in Lofoten . There is a car ferry from Svolvær to Skutvik that connects Lofoten with European route 6 . Another important ferry connection is the car ferry from Moskenes to Bodø. There is an express boat connection between Svolvær and Bodø.

Vesterålen can be reached via the car ferry from Fiskebøl to Melbu.

Air traffic

There are three airfields in Lofoten, at Svolvær, Leknes and on the island of Røst. There is also a helipad on the island of Værøy, as the airfield on this island has not been used for many years due to its dangerous updrafts. All airports are approached several times a day from Bodø. Since April 2017, there have also been direct flights from Oslo to Svolvær and Leknes through Widerøe twice a week. The flight time is about 2.5 hours. The Harstad / Narvik Airport , which on the E 10 is connected to the archipelago, offers daily several flights to Oslo.

Overview of the ferry connections

Ferry from Vesterålen to Lofoten;

Ferries from the E6 (mainland) to Lofoten:

  • Skutvik - Svolvær, driving time 2 hours
  • Bodø - Røst, travel time 4.5 to 5 hours
  • Bodø - Værøy, travel time 3.5 to 5 hours
  • Bodø - Moskenes, travel time 3 to 3.5 hours

Catamaran (fast ferry) from the mainland to Lofoten:

  • Bodø - Svolvær, travel time 3 hours

Hurtigruten line cross connection:

  • Bodø - Stamsund, travel time 3.5 hours
  • Stamsund - Svolvær, travel time 2.5 hours
  • Svolvær - Stokmarknes, travel time 3 hours

literature

  • Hans-Joachim Kürtz, Photos: Walter Mayr: Lofoten: In the Cod Archipelago. In: Geo-Magazin. Hamburg 1979, 4, pp. 138-156. Informative experience report: "The Lofot fishermen hunt the cod from mid-January until April. Thousands are seized with catch fever every year. But some who hoped for a fortune stayed at sea." ISSN  0342-8311

Web links

Commons : Lofoten  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Lofoten  - travel guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tettsteders befolkning og areal Statistisk sentralbyrå, accessed on June 25, 2020
  2. ↑ Nikolaus Froitzheim, Irena Miladinova u. a .: Devonian subduction and syncollisional exhumation of continental crust in Lofoten, Norway. In: Geology. 44, 2016, p. 223, doi : 10.1130 / G37545.1 .
  3. ↑ Har tatt opp 38,000 tonn skrei hittil i år In: Nordland , March 25, 2014. Accessed January 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ Lofotkvantum 65,195 tonn skrei In: Lofotposten , April 28, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Exchange fish for natural gas. In: Financial Times Germany. Hamburg September 19, 2008.