is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of Andøy Municipality which is located in the Vesterålen district of

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county, Norway. The village of Andenes is the northernmost settlement of the island of Andøya (and in Nordland county). To the east is the island of Senja (in Troms county), and to the west the endless horizon of the North Atlantic Ocean. Andenes Lighthouse sits along the harbor and can be seen for long distances.

Andøya Airport, Andenes Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

is located just south of the village, off of Norwegian County Road 82. The village has a population (2018) of 2,694 which gives the village a population density of .

History

Andenes was already an important fishing village during the Iron Age. By the early 1900s, it had become one of the largest fishing ports in Norway. The municipality of Andenes was established on 1 January 1924 when it was separated from

Dverberg Dverberg is a small village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the east coast of the island of Andøya, along the Andfjorden, about south of the large village of Andenes. The village of Dverberg is also called ...

municipality. Initially, Andenes had 2,213 residents. On 1 January 1964, Andenes was merged with Dverberg and Bjørnskinn municipalities to create the new municipality of Andøy. In the early 1980s, the population of the village of Andenes was 3,770, which made it the largest village in Vesterålen. The downsizing of

Andøya Air Station Andøya Air Station ( no, Andøya Flystasjon) is a military air station in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The station is located near the village of Andenes at the northern end of the island of Andøya in the Vesterålen archip ...

and general

population centralization Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

in Norway has led to a dramatic decline in inhabitants over the last 20 years. Tourism has become an important sounce of income for Andenes in recent years. The town's location on the coast by a narrow section of continental shelf has led to the town becoming a major centre for whale watching.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was ''Andarnes'' (from originally ''Amdarnes''). The first element is the genitive case of ''Ömd'' (the old name of the island Andøya) and the last element is ''nes'' which means "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

Air Station

The construction of

was commissioned in 1952 and funded in large part by NATO. It was to be situated between Haugnes and Andenes. A

DC-3 Dakota The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (

RNoAF The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...

) undertook the first landing on 17 September 1954. The air station however was not fully operative until 15 September 1957. In 1961, the 333 Squadron was moved from Sola Air Station to Andøya with their Grumman HU-16 Albatross. In 1969, these were replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion. In 1989, the Lockheed P-3C Orion replaced the aging P-3Bs. However, two of the newest P-3Bs were converted to P-3Ns and fly missions for the Norwegian Coast Guard. Besides fisheries, Andøya Air Station has been the largest workplace in Andøy since the 1970s. In the autumn of 2011, an Orion aircraft from Andenes patrolled the Indian Ocean from a forward base in the Seychelles, supported by 44 personnel and contributing 29 patrols of 8–10 hours to NATO's anti-piracy operation. The flights led directly to the arrest of five pirate groups.

Geography

The village lies north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

and the midnight sun is visible from May 19 to July 25. The sun is below the horizon from November 25 to January 28.

Climate

Andenes has the sea in all directions, which moderates both winter and summer temperatures. It has a climate on the boundary between the

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

and the subpolar oceanic climates, being mild for its latitude. Summers are very cool, whereas even during the polar night period, daytime highs typically rise above freezing.

Culture

Andenes Church is located in the central part of the village. The local newspaper is named ''

Andøyposten ''Andøyposten'' is a Norwegian language regional newspaper published in Andenes, Norway. History and profile ''Andøyposten'' was established in 1979. The paper is based in Andenes and is published three times per week. As of 2005 Schibsted ow ...

''. Andenes hosts the annua
"Rock mot Rus"
(Rock against drugs) festival, where young people perform their own rock music as well as more known headliner such as Dead by April, Dimmu Borgir,

Kvelertak Kvelertak () is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Stavanger, formed in 2007. The group comprises vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen, guitarists Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland and Maciek Ofstad, bassist Marvin Nygaard and drummer Håvard Takle Ohr. Foun ...

Turdus Musicus True thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus ''Turdus'' of the wider thrush family, Turdidae. The genus name ''Turdus'' is Latin for "thrush". The term "thrush" is used for many other birds of the famil ...

and Torch.

Notable residents

* Tom Stenvoll, footballer for Stabæk * David Pedersen, singer known from the TV-show Idol * Nanna With, Norwegian journalist

References

External links

Official siteCoast Flights to and from Andenes
{{Authority control Andøy Villages in Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway