Svolvær
| Svolvær | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||
| Basic data | |||||
| Country | Norway | ||||
| Province (fylke) | North country | ||||
| Municipality (commune) : | Vågan | ||||
| Coordinates : | 68 ° 14 ' N , 14 ° 34' E | ||||
| Residents : | 4,487 (January 1, 2013) | ||||
| Area : | 2.33 km² | ||||
| Population density : | 1926 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| traffic | |||||
| Street: | E10 | ||||
| Next international airport : | Svolvaer airport | ||||
is a city inNorway. Svolvær is the administrative center ofVåganmunicipality in the northern Norwegianprovince ofNordland. With 4487 inhabitants it is the largest city inLofoten. Around half of the entire population of Vågan municipality lives here. The landmark of Svolvær is theSvolværgeitarock formation(first ascent in 1910) on MountFløyawith two 1.80 m apart rock peaks.
geography
location
Svolvær is located in the southeast of the island Austvågøy on the Vestfjord . It originated on the flat, elongated headland at the foot of Fløya. From here the fishing village expanded to the surrounding mainland and the islands of Kjeøya and Svinøya, as well as several small spars . In the northeast there is a mountain range with the mountains Blåtinden , Fløya and Svolen . In the northwest, the mountain range forms a similarly high massif with the Løva and Kongstinden . The lakes Øvre and Nedre Svolværvatnet lie between the two ridges . In the southwest, the Tjeldbergtinden separates Svolvær from Kabelvåg , which is only 3 km away .
climate
Due to the Gulf Stream, Svolvær's climate is milder than that of other places on the same latitude ( Alaska or Greenland ). The average temperature in July is +13.9 ° C and in January +1.8 ° C. The months with the lowest rainfall are May and June with an average of 40 mm of rainfall. According to Köppen's climate classification , Svolvær has an oceanic climate ( Cfb ), which originally had places that are up to thirty degrees further south.
history
Svolvær was in 1573 under the name Sválvær in the crown lands recorded and remained there until 1763. Mainly business is fishing and livestock , especially on the islands and Svinøya Kjeøya. The place also became a central point of contact for seafarers. In 1781 the Svolvær estate was given the privilege of running an inn .
In 1831 the merchant Lars Todal Walnum Berg, father of the painter Gunnar Berg , settled in Svolvær, which had a positive effect on the development of the place. The population of the place increased and at the end of the 19th century there was a discussion about making Svolvær a town. In 1918 Svolvær received the title ladested and became an independent municipality. This means that from then on Svolvær had trading rights and was subject to the legal provisions for expansion and planning of a town. The title ladested is not to be confused with the title kjøpstad , a trading town with full rights and privileges.
Beyond the 1920s, a general plan for the city was developed and implemented, in which, among others, Professor Sverre Pedersen from the NTH was involved.
During the Second World War , German troops occupied Lofoten, including Svolær. On March 4, 1941, British units invaded the occupied coastal cities and defeated the German occupiers. Part of the place was destroyed by fire. The company went down in history as Operation Claymore and is known in Norway as Lofotraid .
In 1952, a Storting election resulted in a change in the Basic Law, in which the division into ladested and kjøpstad areas was abolished. As a result, all legal differences between the two titles that had existed until then were abolished. Little by little they were replaced by the term city. Svolvær Municipality lasted until 1964. It was merged with the municipality of Gimsøy to form Vågan municipality. It was not until 1997 that the municipality of Svolvær granted town charter .
administration
The tingrett Lofoten is located in Svolvaer. The Tingrett is the lowest of the three instances of Norwegian case law . It can be compared with local and regional courts in Germany . Svølvær Police Station is responsible for the Midtre Hålogaland area. In the city there is also a control body of the fisheries authority. She heads the administration of the Lofoten fishery and maintains the ship control department.
Economy and Infrastructure
traffic
- Road traffic
The European route 10 runs through the city , via which the mainland can be reached without ferry, through tunnels and bridges. A car ferry runs from Svolvær via Skrova to Skutvik in Hamarøy municipality , creating a connection to European route 6 .
There is a bus route within the city.
- Shipping
After Bodo and Narvik a speedboat line runs. Svolvær has been the landing stage for Hurtigruten ships on their Bergen - Kirkenes route since 1893 .
Several beacons around the city secure the entrance to the port.
- Air traffic
The Svolvær airport , from the u. a. Direct flights to Bodø are offered, located around six kilometers from the city center on the Helle headland, east of the city. Due to its short runway, not all types of aircraft can land here.
economy
The inhabitants of Svolvær make their living mainly from fishing, especially cod . In the 1920s around 7,800 fishermen were registered. However, on Sundays during the main fishing season, from January to April, the number of fishermen rose slightly to 12,000. In 1947 there were 20,000 fishermen employed. Today there are around 3,000 who catch up to 50,000 t of cod during the main fishing season. A production including shipyards has built up around the fishing industry. The cod is mainly processed into stockfish and exported to southern European countries.
In the last ten years tourism has become increasingly important for Svolvær. Since then, the cityscape has changed fundamentally. The city invested in the construction of new hotels and rorbus and created a diverse cultural offer. A total of around 280,000 tourists visit Lofoten every year.
media
The daily newspaper Lofotposten is published in Svolvær. It is one of the largest in Northern Norway.
education
There are several kindergartens in Svolvær. In addition to the secondary school, there are two primary schools, the Svolvær barne- og ungdomsskole for grades 1–10 and the Lofoten Montessoriskole for grades 1–7.
Culture and sights
- Lofoten War Museum - documents related to the Second World War are exhibited here
- Svolvær Church
Artist life
Many well-known Norwegian artists have traveled to Lofoten and Svolvær. Among them were Otto Sinding , Dag Rødsand , Anita Greve and Axel Revold . The painters Gunnar Berg and Odd Helmersen grew up in Svolvær. The Swede Anna Boberg first came to Svolvær in 1901. She built a studio on the highest point of Svinøya . Many of her Lofoten paintings were exhibited in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century , and one can be seen in the Nasjonalgallieri in Oslo . She bequeathed the studio to the visual artists of Norway. However, it was destroyed during a German attack. In the post-war period, the Kunstnerhuset ( German : Künstlerhaus) was built in the spirit of Boberg . Artists from all over the world can live and work there. In 1979 the Nordnordisk Kunstnersenter was founded in Svolvær . It runs several galleries and directs exhibitions and art projects in the visual arts and handicrafts across Northern Norway. Another aim of the art center is to support children and young people in matters of art. In Svolvær there are still several studios of artists known in Norway. The atelier of Dagfinn Bakke should be mentioned here , his pictures hang in some Hurtigruten ships.
Events
Every year in March, the city hosts the world cod fishing championships. In 2012 the winner caught a fish weighing 18.3 kilograms.
sons and daughters of the town
- Gunnar Berg (1863-1893), painter
- Ellen Einan (1931–2013), poet and illustrator
- Kari Bremnes (* 1956), singer and songwriter
- Mathias Normann (* 1996), Norwegian soccer player
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Population and land area in urban settlements, January 1, 2013. SSB, January 1, 2014, accessed on December 20, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Geir Thorsnæs: Svolvær - tettsted og administrasjonssenter. In: store norske leksikon. April 4, 2009, accessed December 21, 2014 (Norwegian).
- ↑ a b Svolvær. Riksantikvaren, accessed December 21, 2014 (Norwegian).
- ↑ Bjarne Sunde: ladested. In: store norske leksikon. November 13, 2013, accessed December 21, 2014 (Norwegian).
- ^ Geir Thorsnæs: Vågan. In: store norske leksikon. July 8, 2010, accessed December 21, 2014 (Norwegian).
- ↑ a b c Billy Jacobsen: Svolvær. In: Fylkesleksikon. NRK, accessed December 22, 2014 (Norwegian).
- ^ Billy Jacobsen, Per Bjørn Pedersen: Anna Boberg. In: Fylkesleksikon. NRK, accessed December 24, 2014 (Norwegian).
- ↑ About us. Nord Nordisk Kunstnersenter, accessed on November 16, 2016 (English).
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung of March 16, 2013, page R1