, , or 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 ...

Karasjok Municipality ( se, Kárášjohka ; fkv, Kaarasjoki) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok. Other villages include Dorvonjárga, Šuoššjávri, and Váljohka. Th ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

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 ...

. The village is located along both sides of the

Karasjohka or is a river in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The long river runs through Kautokeino Municipality and Karasjok Municipality. The river is one of the most important rivers that drains the Finnmarksvidda plateau. It flows into the famous ...

river, just west of the Norway-Finland border. The

European route E06 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and thr ...

highway runs through the village on its way from

Lakselv ( sme, Leavdnja; fkv, Lemmijoki) is the largest village and administrative centre of Porsanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village lies at the southern end of the large Porsangerfjorden. The village has a population ...

Tana bru Tana bru ( sme, Deanušaldi) is the administrative centre of Deatnu-Tana Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village lies on the western bank of the Tana River, along the European route E6 highway. The village has a popul ...

and

Kirkenes Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town ...

. The village has a population (2017) of 1,844 which gives the village a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of . The village is an important centre in the municipality and region. About 2/3 of the municipal population lives in the village. The

Sami Parliament of Norway Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise n ...

is located in the village. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

in Norway. The Old Karasjok Church and the newer

Karasjok Church Karasjok Church ( no, Karasjok kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Karasjok Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Karasjok. It is the main church for the Karasjok parish which is par ...

are located in the village. The newer church is also the seat of the Indre Finnmark prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

History

Prior to the beginning of the 1700s, there might not have been a permanent population there but the area was used by nomads.

World War II

During World War II a Nazi concentration camp was built in Karasjok: ''

Lager IV Karasjok Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface th ...

'' (German for "Karasjok Camp No.4", no, Karasjok fangeleir). The camp was run by SS, and it was among the first four

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

s in

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

. In July 1943, 374

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s and

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s prisoners (mostly

Yugoslavs Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian and Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has ...

) were brought to the concentration camp. They were tasked with widening the road to

Karigasniemi Karigasniemi ( se, Gáregasnjárga) is a village in the municipality of Utsjoki in Finland. It lies at the foot of Mount Ailigás. The village is situated on the border between Norway and Finland south-east of the Norwegian village of Karas ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. After four or five months, only 111 of these prisoners were still alive. At the end of the prisoners' stay in Karasjok, before transportation out of Karasjok, 45 prisoners were massacred by the firing of small arms. At least one former prisoner is (as of 2013) still alive.

After World War II

In 2015, the second edition of

Sápmi Pride Sápmi Pride is a pride festival with Sápmi focus arranged annually since 2014. History The festival, organised by Queering Sápmi, took place for the first time in 2014 in Kiruna, in Lapland. The festival, which went on for four days, fea ...

, the LGBT pride festival, was held in Karasjok. To protest homosexuals attending the

, and to protest that a female priest held the services, Norges Samemisjon cancelled one of their radio broadcasts.

History

World War II

After World War II

References

See also