North cap
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| Basic data | |||
| Commune number : | 5435 | ||
| Province (county) : | Troms and Finnmark | ||
| Administrative headquarters: | Honningsvåg | ||
| Coordinates : | 71 ° 1 ' N , 25 ° 7' E | ||
| Surface: | 925.69 km² | ||
| Residents: | 3,162 (Feb 27, 2020) | ||
| Population density : | 3 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Language form : | Bokmål | ||
| Website: | |||
| politics | |||
| Mayor : | Jan Olsen ( SV ) (2019) | ||
| Located in the province of Troms and Finnmark | |||
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Nordkapp ( Sami Davvinjárgga , German spelling Nordkap ) is a Norwegian municipality in the province of Troms og Finnmark .
geography
Most of the municipality is on the island of Magerøya ; the smaller part is on the Norwegian mainland. Magerøya has been connected to the mainland since 1999 by the 6,875 m long Nordkap tunnel. At one of the northern tips of Magerøya lies the North Cape , a slate plateau rising steeply out of the Arctic Ocean, which is often incorrectly referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. In fact, the headland Knivskjellodden, three kilometers to the west of the North Cape, is the northernmost point of the island of Magerøya and the municipality of Nordkapp. The northernmost point of mainland Europe can be found further east with the Kinnarodden on the northern chin peninsula , in the municipality of Gamvik . The first tourist to visit the North Cape was the Italian priest Francesco Negri in 1664 . Since then, travelers from all over the world have been drawn to this area.
Community structure
The administrative center of the municipality is the city of Honningsvåg , which has been the northernmost city in Europe since it was granted city rights in 1998, replacing the city of Hammerfest , which is also in Finnmark . Other settlements inhabited all year round are Nordvågen , Kamøyvær , Skarsvåg and Gjesvær on Magerøya and Kåfjord on the mainland to the south. In addition, the western part of the uninhabited Sværholt Peninsula belongs to the municipality.
history
The municipality was established in 1861 and was initially called Kjelvik. The most important branch of business was fishing, with cod and saithe being particularly important. The saithe was particularly important in trade with Russia . The fish caught by fishermen in the community was also bought in large quantities by producers of clipfish in southern and northern Norway . With the advent of motor boats in the early 20th century, both the fishing season and fishing areas expanded further, resulting in further growth in the industry. From 1893 Hurtigruten ships regularly called at the municipality .
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, several road construction projects were carried out. The road from Vågen to Holmmen was built in 1899 , in 1902 from Honnigsvåg to Verstersida and from 1913 to 1917 the road to Nordmannset . In 1913, Kjelvik Sparebank , founded in the municipality, started business operations. After a merger, it is now part of Sparebanken Nord-Norge .
The population grew mainly through immigration, at the same time there was a centralization to the somewhat larger towns. In the 1920s and 1930s the economic situation deteriorated considerably. For one thing, fish catches fell significantly. At the same time, however, world market prices fell significantly. The pomor trade with Russia ended with the local revolution of 1917. The living situation of the population deteriorated accordingly and was characterized by unemployment, poverty and debts. The municipality was also in debt and was placed under public administration in 1934. Tax revenues had fallen significantly, and at the same time the municipality had vouched for the construction of sewers in Honningsvåg and a waterworks in Elvedalen, as well as for private individuals. Out of 589,000 Norwegian kroner in tax debt, only 89,000 kroner was assessed as recoverable. Debt restructuring followed. Many people hired on English fishing boats that regularly called at Honningsvåg. During this time the transition from the traditional mix of a typical Finnmark trade of livestock and fishing to the main job of fisherman took place. In 1930, 13 full-time farmers and 656 full-time fishermen were counted in the municipality. In contrast to other Finnmark municipalities, the agricultural sector declined. The fishing fleet experienced a simplification. Smaller boats and ineffective fishing methods were increasingly used. More modern ships were used, however, especially in the area of the North Cape. Fish species were also fished that had not been exploited until then, such as halibut , flounder and haddock . There were also new fishing methods with trawls and purse seine nets . In 1935 the first shrimp factory opened in Holmbukt .
The state provided emergency funds with which road construction work was carried out. Such is the unfinished road from Nordvågen to Kjelvik . The municipality received a loan, fishermen were able to receive funding from the state fishing bank for investments. In addition, modern state ships were handed over to cooperatives and fishing equipment made available.
During the Second World War , the municipality was occupied by German troops who set up a base in Honningsvåg. Batteries and coastal artillery were built on Magerøya, Porsangnes , Sværholt and Juldagsnes . In the area of today 's Honningsvåg Valan Airport , mines were laid to defend the beach and sites for close combat defenses were created. Honningsvåg has been the target of British and Soviet air raids on several occasions . A total of 59 residents of the community died due to the war. The building stone Honningsvåg reminds of them . The economy was largely geared towards the German war economy. Many people worked in the construction sector, as dock workers or in the fishing industry that supplied a freezer in Hammerfest operated by the German side. Many people were forced to work, including the unemployed. Money lost its importance, many goods were only exchanged and means of production were used to the point of wear and tear.
In the course of the withdrawal of the German troops at the end of 1944, almost the entire development of the municipality was destroyed with the company Nordlicht and the population was forcibly moved to more southern parts of Norway. At first an attempt was made to carry out a voluntary evacuation, but the population refused to do so. Only about 100 people remained hidden in caves or huts on the island. On November 6, 1944 Skarsvåg , Sarnes , Kamøyvær , Tufjord and the then to the municipality Måsøy belonging Gjesvær burned. It followed on November 11th in Nordvågen . From November 13th the destruction of Honningsvåg and Storbukt took place , which lasted until December 23rd. A total of 743 houses, 63 fish collection points, 263 agricultural buildings, 13 workshops and industrial buildings, 10 houses of prayer, 7 schools, 5 hotels and also hospitals, pharmacies, old people's homes, cafés and much more were destroyed in this way.
Reconstruction began in June 1945. The Finnmark Office responsible for this controlled the construction centrally. It pursued the goal of centralizing the settlements, since it was assumed that the largest possible units would be positive for future economic development. This was based on considerations that already existed before the destruction. Politically, these ideas were supported by the social democratic Norwegian Workers' Party. Smaller seaside fishing towns like Kjelvik and Sarnes disappeared while Honningsvåg grew. It was relied on cooperatives and state company management. Trawlers and large cutters replaced the small fishing boats. Instead of the fish acceptance points, there were now fish factories. Schooling for children has also been centralized. This course also met with criticism and was later criticized as a mistake.
While fish catches were still low in the first post-war period due to a lack of personnel and material, in 1947 the amount jumped from 2,500 to 11,400 tons. Subsequently, the municipality became the largest fishing municipality in Finnmark with 51,727 tons in 1958.
With a royal decree of July 8, 1949, it was decided to change the name of the municipality in Nordkapp. The name was changed on July 1, 1950.
By 1959 1,009 residential buildings had been completed. The initially existing rationing of products was gradually abolished beginning in 1949. In 1960 the reconstruction was declared finished. The road connection to the North Cape was established as early as 1956 and was of crucial importance for the development of tourism. The number of inhabitants rose significantly by 1967, both due to immigration and a surplus of births. At that time the community had 5,449 inhabitants. After that, the initially still existing birth surplus was no longer sufficient to offset the onset of emigration. Young people and women in particular moved away.
In the 1960s the fishery continued to grow significantly. Capelin in particular was caught and processed. The fish was also increasingly processed on site. The number of fishermen nevertheless fell from 622 in 1950 to 418 in 1960 to 295 in 1980. In 1976, the North Cape Festival was founded as an important regular cultural event .
In 1977 the roads to Kåfjord and Gjesvær were completed. The latter ultimately led to Gjesvær's annexation to the municipality of Nordkapp in 1984.
In the 1980s, the fishing industry in the community went into a serious crisis. In 1986 capelin fishing also collapsed significantly. Many companies in the industry went bankrupt or at least had to cut production. The Sifi company gave up production in 1985, Norfi closed in 1987, Finotro went bankrupt in 1990 as the Frionor Polar Group . As a result, unemployment and emigration rose. The local government also had serious problems performing its duties. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that other institutions also closed. So the base of the air force with 60 jobs was given up. The customs office and labor inspection also gave up their local location. One tried to counteract this. The Norwegian Coastal Administration opened a branch, Radio Nordkapp founded and the North Cape Alpine facility built.
traffic
The Honningsvåg Airport is located in the municipality. The European route 69 with the Nordkap tunnel between the mainland and the island of Magerøya crosses the municipality from south to north.
coat of arms
Description : Divided into gold and red by a left step .
Sons and daughters of the commune
- Gunnar Stålsett (* 1935), politician and Lutheran bishop of Oslo
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå - Befolkning
- ↑ https://www.visitnorway.de/reiseziel/nordnorwegen/das-nordkap/
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Arctic Ocean - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 5
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Arctic Ocean -, editor: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 118
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Ice Sea - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 21
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Arctic Ocean - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 22
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Ice Sea - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 33
- ↑ a b Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Ice Sea - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 34
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Arctic Ocean - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 43
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Arctic Ocean - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 4
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Ice Sea -, publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 84
- ↑ Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Arctic Ocean - , editor: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 83
- ↑ a b Einar Richter-Hanssen, Nordkapp - Gate to the Ice Sea - , publisher: Arctic Suvenir AS, 2011, ISBN 978-82-998690-0-3 , page 119