Austvågøya is the northeasternmost and largest of the larger islands in the

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...

archipelago in

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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located between the

Vestfjorden Vestfjorden is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an open bight of sea. The "fjord" lies between the Lofo ...

and the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

. The island of

Vestvågøya Vestvågøya or Vest-Vågøy is an island in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located within Vestvågøy Municipality. The island lies between the islands of Austvågøya and Gimsøya to the northeast and Flak ...

lies to the southwest and the large island of

Hinnøya Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties. The western ...

to the northeast. In 2017, the island had about 9,000 residents. Most of the island is part of

Vågan Municipality Vågan ( sme, Vuogát) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include Digermulen, ...

, while the northeastern part belongs to

Hadsel Municipality Hadsel ( sme, Válafierda) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stokmarknes. Other villages in Hadsel include Fiskebø ...

. The main town on the island is

Svolvær Svolvær () is the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality in Nordland County, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, along the Vestfjorden. The town has a population (2018) of 4,720 which gives t ...

. Austvågøya is popular among

mountain climber Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

s. The famous

Trollfjord The Trollfjord or Trollfjorden is a fjord in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The long fjord cuts into the island of Austvågøya and flows out into the Raftsundet strait. The fjord has a narrow entrance and steep-sided mountain ...

is located in the eastern part of the island. Austvågøya is connected by the

European route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about 850 km (530 mi) in length. The Norwegian part of the ...

highway to the neighboring island of

to the east using the

Raftsund Bridge The Raftsund Bridge ( no, Raftsundbrua) is a two-lane cantilever road bridge in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The bridge carries the European route E10 highway and it crosses the Raftsundet strait between the islands of Austv� ...

and to the island of

Gimsøya Gimsøya is an island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Gimsøya is situated between the islands of Austvågøya and Vestvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The island has a population (2016) of 181. The European route E10 ...

to the west using the

Gimsøystraumen Bridge The Gimsøystraumen Bridge ( no, Gimsøystraumen bru / Gimsøybrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Gimsøystraumen strait between the islands of Austvågøya and Gimsøya in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The conc ...

Geography

The island is long in the east to west direction and wide from the north to south. The islands surrounding Austvågøya include

and

to the west,

Skrova Skrova is a small island group and village area in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Village The fishing village of Skrova lies on the northern part of the island group. It exists mostly on the island of ''Heimskrova'', but also ...

Litlmolla Litlmolla is an uninhabited island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies east of the town of Svolvær in the Vestfjorden. The island is located in the Lofoten archipelago, south of the large island of Austvågøya ...

, and Stormolla to the south,

to the east, and

Hadseløya Hadseløya or Hadseløy is an island in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Vesterålen region on the north side of the Hadselfjorden. The town of Stokmarknes is situated on the northern shore of the island and t ...

to the north. Austvågøya is largely a mountain

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

, with lowland almost exclusively at the coastal beaches, the brim of lowland around the coast. The highest mountain on the island (and in all of Lofoten) is the tall

Higravstinden Higravtindan or Higravstindan is the tallest mountain on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the border of Hadsel Municipality and Vågan Municipality. The village of Laupstad and ...

, located on the eastern part of the island. ''Svartsundtindan'' (), ''Trolltindan'' (), and ''Olsanestind'' () are also in the eastern part, while the famous

Vågakallen Vågakallen is a mountain in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It has a height of 942 or 943 m.a.s.l., and is located in the island of Austvågøy in the Lofoten archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island ...

() looms over the village of Henningsvær in the southwestern part.

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Vágøy''. The first element is the name of the old church site at

Vågan Vågan ( sme, Vuogát) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include Digermulen, ...

where

Vågan Church Vågan Church ( no, Vågan kirke; nickname: ''Lofoten Cathedral'') is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya. It is the ...

is located today. The last element is ''øy'' which means "

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

". The word ''aust'' (meaning "east") was later added to the name to differentiate it with the neighboring island of

Media gallery

File:Kabelvaag2016.jpg, Kabelvåg on Austvågøy File:Trollfjorden 002.jpg, Trollfjord File:Themistokles_von_Eckenbrecher_Raftsund_1906.jpeg, Raftsundet (strait) between Austvågøy and

, painting by Eckenbrecher File:Vagakallen wiki.jpg,

, at 942 metres in height

References

External links

DNT - Trollfjordhytta
- DNT lodge near Trollfjord {{DEFAULTSORT:Austvagoy Islands of Nordland Lofoten Vågan Hadsel

Geography

Name

Media gallery

See also

References

External links