sea eagles and
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s, and millions of other sea birds, among them the colourful
puffin
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
. It has mainland Europe's largest seabird colony.
The birds once mistaken for the extinct
great auk
The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus ''Pinguinus''. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, wh ...
turned out to be some of the nine
king penguin
The king penguin (''Aptenodytes patagonicus'') is the second largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. There are two subspecies: ''A. p. patagonicus'' and ''A. p. halli''; ''patagonicus'' i ...
s released around Norway's Lofoten Islands in August 1936, there until at least 1944.
Climate
Lofoten features a mostly
subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, although some parts like Skrova features a temperate
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(Cfb). Winter temperatures in Lofoten are extremely mild considering its location north of the Arctic Circle – possibly the largest positive temperature anomaly in the world relative to
latitude
In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
. The mild winters are a result of the temperate waters of 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 ...
, which is warmed by the
North Atlantic Current and the
Norwegian Current
The Norwegian Current (also known as the Norway Coastal Current) is one of two dominant arctic inflows of water. It can be traced from near Shetland, north of Scotland, otherwise from the eastern North Sea at depths of up to 100 metres. It finally ...
. The mild air (Lows) from the Atlantic having a free path northwards even in winter is also very significant.
Strong winds can occur in late autumn and winter. Snow and sleet are not uncommon in winter. The mountains can have substantial amounts of snow, and avalanches may come down from the steep slopes.
In Svolvær, the sun is above the horizon continuously ("
midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, t ...
") from 25 May to 17 July, and in winter the sun does not rise from 4 December to 7 January. In
Leknes
is a town in Nordland county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of the municipality of Vestvågøy (with 10,764 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality in Lofoten and Vesterålen). Leknes was designated a "town" ( no ...
, the sun is above the horizon from 26 May to 17 July, and in winter the sun does not rise from 9 December to 4 January.
The temperature in the sea has been recorded since 1935. At depth in the sea near
Skrova
Skrova is a small island group and village area in VÃ¥gan 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 i ...
, water temperatures varies from a low of in March to in August, some years peaking above . November is around . At a depth of , the temperature is near all year.
Skrova lighthouse on an island near Svolvær has the longest recording of air temperature in Lofoten. The warmest temperature recorded is in June 1972. The coldest temperature recorded is in February 1966. Last overnight freeze in June was in 1962, and last freeze in September was in 1986. Skrova and nearby Svolvær are among those places in North Norway which can record what Norwegians know as "tropical nights" when the overnight low does not go below . The warmest night recorded in Lofoten was July 1 1972 at Skrova with low , and the earliest in summer was June 10th 2011 with low . The wettest month recorded is December 1936 with 227 mm, and the driest is January 2014 with 0.9 mm.
Even if the islands are not that large, there are some climatic differences. The islands in the southwest, Værøy and Røst, have the warmest winters, but summer highs are cooler. Vestvågøy with the town Leknes has lowland in the interior of the island with mountains nearby; winters here are slightly colder and much wetter than at Skrova, while summers are drier and comparable.
Sport
Mountaineering and rock climbing
Lofoten offers many
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
and
mountaineering
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, a ...
opportunities. It has 24 hours of daylight in the summer and has Alpine-style ridges, summits and
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
s, but at a height of less than . The main centre for rock climbing is
Henningsvær
Henningsvær is a fishing village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on several small islands off the southern coast of the large island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village is located about sou ...
on Austvågøya.
The main areas for mountaineering and climbing are on
Austvågøy and
Moskenesøya
Moskenesøya (lit. ''Moskenes Island'') is an island at the southern end of the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island is shared between Moskenes Municipality and Flakstad Municipality. The tidal whirlpool system known as Mos ...
. Moskenesøya features remote and serious mountaineering whereas
Austvågøy is very popular area for rock climbing.
Football
Lofoten has one of the world's most unique football pitches. The pitch rests on a rocky islet which has no actual seats.
Surfing
Unstad is one of its better known locations for surfing. Every September surfers from around the world visit to compete in the Lofoten Masters.
Cycling
There is a well-marked cycling route that goes from
Ã… in the south and continues past
Fiskebøl in the north. The route is part public road, part cycle-path with the option to bypass all of the tunnels by either cycle-path (tunnels through mountains) or boat. Traffic is generally light, although in July there may be a lot of
campervans. Some of the more remote sections are on gravel roads. There is a dedicated cycling ferry which sails between
Ballstad
Ballstad is a village in Vestvågøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on a small island off the southwestern tip of the island of Vestvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. It is one of the largest fishing villages in Lofoten. ...
and
Nusfjord
Nusfjord is a fishing village in Flakstad Municipality in Lofoten in Nordland county, Norway. The village lies on the southern shore of the island of Flakstadøya, along the Vestfjorden.
In 2017, Uwe Rosenberg designed and published a board gam ...
, allowing cyclists to avoid the long, steep
Nappstraum tunnel. The route hugs the coastline for most of its length where it is generally flat. As it turns inland through the mountain passes there are a couple of climbs.
The
Lofoten Insomnia Cycling Race
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 ...
takes place every year around midsummer, possible in the midnight sun, but certainly in 24-hour daylight, along the whole Lofoten archipelago.
The
Arctic Race of Norway
The Arctic Race of Norway is an annual multiple stage bicycle race held in northern Norway. The first edition was in 2013, from 8 August to 11 August, and lasted for four days. The organising partners are Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Arcti ...
, the world's northernmost professional stage race on road bike which takes place every year in Northern Norway, crossed the Lofoten islands during its first edition in August 2013. , the race was planned to be back in 2019 from Thursday 15 August to Sunday 18 August. The first two stages will cross the Lofoten archipelago from west to east.
Transportation
The European road
E10 connects the larger islands of Lofoten with bridges and undersea tunnels. The E10 road also connects Lofoten to the mainland of Norway through the
Lofast Lofoten Mainland Connection ( no, Lofotens fastlandsforbindelse) or Lofast is a part of European route E10 that connects the Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten to the mainland, giving direct access to Lofoten from the surrounding municipalities. The c ...
road connection, which was officially opened on 1 December 2007. There are several daily bus services between the islands of Lofoten and between Lofoten and the mainland along E10.
Lofoten is also served by a number of small airports:
*
Leknes Airport
Leknes Airport ( no, Leknes lufthavn; ) is a regional airport serving the town of Leknes and the surrounding areas in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The airport is located just outside Leknes in Vestvågøy municipality. ...
(101,757 passengers in 2014)
*
Svolvær Airport, Helle
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 the ...
(74,496 passengers in 2014)
*
Røst Airport
Røst Airport ( no, Røst lufthavn; ) is a regional airport serving Røst Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The airport is located on the northern edge of the main island of Røstlandet, just north of the main village of Røstlandet. I ...
(9,889 passengers in 2014), which mainly offers flights to Bodø.
*A
heliport at
Værøy
Værøy is an island municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørland on the main island of Værøya. The other village in Værà ...
(9,420 passengers in 2014)
*
Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen
Stokmarknes Airport ( no, Stokmarknes lufthavn; ) is an airport in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the island of Langøya, about northeast of the town of Stokmarknes and about southwest of the town of Sortland. ...
(93,782 passengers in 2016) is located in Vesterålen.
*
Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes has direct flights to
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
and
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
.
Bodø is often used as a hub for travel to Lofoten. In addition to air travel there is a ferry connecting Bodø to
Moskenes. There is also a ferry connecting Svolvær to
Skutvik
Skutvika or Skutvik is a small village in the municipality of Hamarøy in Nordland county, Norway. The village is situated at the southwestern extreme of the Hamarøya peninsula, about north of the town of Bodø, southwest of the town of Nar ...
in
Hamarøy
Hamarøy ( smj, Hábmer) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is t ...
, with road connection east to
E6.
Hurtigruten calls at
Stamsund
Stamsund is a fishing village in Vestvågøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the island of Vestvågøy in the Lofoten archipelago, along the Vestfjorden. The village is located about east of the t ...
and
Svolvær.
Culture
Visual arts
(Lofoten internasjonale kunstfestival, LIAF) is a
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
biennale
Biennale (), Italian for "biennial" or "every other year", is any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. As such the term was popularis ...
with no set venue or location on the archipelago. Artists who have participated include Kjersti Andvig,
Michel Auder,
A K Dolven,
Ida Ekblad,
Elmgreen & Dragset
Michael Elmgreen (born 1961; Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1969; Trondheim, Norway) have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. Their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design.
Elmgreen & Dragset liv ...
, and
Lawrence Weiner.
The (Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter, NNKS) was established in
Svolvær in 1979.
is a privately-owned contemporary art space in
Henningsvær
Henningsvær is a fishing village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on several small islands off the southern coast of the large island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village is located about sou ...
.
The (Nordland kunst- og filmhøgskole, NKFS) was established in
Kabelvåg in 1997.
In popular culture
Literature
*
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
's short story "
A Descent into the Maelström
"A Descent into the Maelström" is an 1841 short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. In the tale, a man recounts how he survived a shipwreck and a whirlpool. It has been grouped with Poe's tales of ratiocination and also labeled an early f ...
" tells the story of a man who survived his ship being drawn into and swallowed by
Moskstraumen.
*Many of the novels of
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...
are situated in the Lofoten.
*
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's novel ''
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne.
The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-Ju ...
'' (1870) concludes with the ''
Nautilus'' having fallen into the
Maelström, and Prof. Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land, who had been attempting to escape when the ''Nautilus'' began its fall, washed up on an island in the Lofotens.
*
Johan Bojer
Johan Bojer (6 March 1872 – 3 July 1959) was a popular Norwegian novelist and dramatist. He principally wrote about the lives of the poor farmers and fishermen, both in his native Norway and among the Norwegian immigrants in the United States.
H ...
's novel ''
The Last of the Vikings
''The Last of the Vikings'' (Italian:''L'ultimo dei Vikinghi'', French:''Le Dernier des Vikings'') is a 1961 French-Italian historical film directed by Giacomo Gentilomo and starring Cameron Mitchell, Edmund Purdom and Isabelle Corey.Elley p.202 I ...
'' (1922) tells the story of the Lofoten cod fishermen.
* In
Ole Edvart Rølvaag
Ole Edvart Rølvaag (; Rølvåg in modern Norwegian, Rolvaag in English orthography) (April 22, 1876 – November 5, 1931) was a Norwegian-American novelist and professor who became well known for his writings regarding the Norwegian American imm ...
's novel ''
Giants in the Earth'', the Norwegian protagonists settling in
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...
are immigrants from Lofoten.
* The poem "Pilot Nagel" from the Greek sailor-poet
Nikos Kavvadias tells the story of the Norwegian sailor Nagel Harbor, who dies at the port of Colombo, while escorting a steamer tank on its way to his homeland, the Lofoten islands.
Films
*In the film ''
Maelström'', Lofoten is where the ashes of Annstein Karson are distributed.
*In the film ''
The Sunlit Night
''The Sunlit Night'' is a 2019 romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Wnendt, from a screenplay by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight, based on her 2015 novel of the same name. It stars Jenny Slate (who also co-produced) as a New York painter find ...
'', Lofoten is where the protagonist Frances decides to aid a fellow critically reviled artist.
Television
* The Norwegian television crime drama series ''
Twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
'', which premiered on 27 October 2019 on NRK, is set in the Lofoten Islands.
* The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick special was filmed in Lofoten in 2022.
Paintings
Norwegian painter
Gunnar Berg was known for his paintings of his native Lofoten. He principally painted scenes of the everyday life of the local fishermen. Other artists whose work has been associated with Lofoten include
Adelsteen Normann
Eilert Adelsteen Normann (1 May 1848 – 26 December 1918) was a Norwegian painter who worked in Berlin. He was a noted painter of landscapes of Norway. Normann was the artist who invited Edvard Munch to Berlin, where he painted ''The Scream''. ...
,
Otto Sinding,
Christian Krohg
Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. He was the director and s ...
,
Theodor Kittelsen and
Lev Lagorio.
Music
In 2004,
Nurse with Wound broadcast 24 unexpected radio transmissions from the Lofoten Islands, whose sounds were sourced from the environment and objects found in Lofoten. These recordings are included on their three releases entitled ''
Shipwreck Radio''.
Gallery
Photographs
File:Sakrisøy.jpg, Sakrisøy
File:Henningsvær, Lofoten, Norway.jpg, Henningsvær
Henningsvær is a fishing village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on several small islands off the southern coast of the large island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village is located about sou ...
in Lofoten, the harbour during fishing season
File:Høvdinghuset, Borg i Lofoten.JPG, The Lofotr Viking Museum, Borg in Vestvågøy
File:Steinsfjorden in Lofoten.jpg, Steinsfjorden
Steinsfjorden is a branch of the lake Tyrifjorden located in Buskerud, Norway. It has a length of about eight kilometers, stretching from the sound Kroksund at Sundvollen northwards to Ã…sa, in the municipalities of Ringerike and Hole. At th ...
in Lofoten
File:Ramberg (Lofoten).jpg, Ramberg beach in Flakstad
File:Sildpollneset.jpg, Sildpollneset
Sildpollneset is a peninsula in the Austnesfjorden on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. It is located in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countr ...
and Higravstindan
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 an ...
mountains, VÃ¥gan municipality
File:Stockfish in Lofoten.jpg, Stockfish
Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which are called "hjell" in Norway) on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage lif ...
has been exported from Lofoten for at least 1,000 years.
File:Mount Småtindan and lake Stor-Kongsvatnet seen from Tjeldbergtind - Svolvær, Lofoten, Norway 2019-08-12.jpg, The view from mount Tjeldbergtinden
File:Djupfjorden, 2010 09.jpg, Djupfjorden in Lofoten
File:Early Morning at Reine, Lofoten, Norway.jpg, Reine in winter
Lofoten in art
File:Kittelsen fra Lofoten.jpg, ''fra Lofoten''
Theodor Kittelsen (1890)
File:LagorioLev LafotenskyOstrov.jpg, ''Lofoten Island''
Lev Lagorio (1895)
File:Anna Boberg 1920b.jpg, ''Lofotenlandskap''
Anna Boberg
Anna Katarina Boberg, née Scholander, (3 December 1864 – 27 January 1935) was a Swedish artist married to prominent architect Ferdinand Boberg. Anna Scholander was the daughter of architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander and the granddaughter o ...
(1910)
File:Themistokles von Eckenbrecher Raftsund 1906.jpeg, ''Blick von Lauksund auf Trolltinden am Raftsund, Lofoten''
Themistokles von Eckenbrecher (1906)
File:Hermann Eschke - Blick von Svolvaer nach Storemolla und Lillemolla.jpg, ''Blick von Svolvaer nach Storemolla und Lillemolla''
Hermann Eschke
Hermann Wilhelm Benjamin Eschke (6 May 1823 - 15 January 1900) was a German painter who specialized in marine art.
Biography
Eschke was born in Berlin. In 1840, at the age of seventeen, he began his studies with Professor Wilhelm Herbig and, ...
(1887)
File:Gunnar Berg Fra Svolvær i Lofoten.jpg, ''Fra Svolvær i Lofoten''
Gunnar Berg
See also
*
Atlantic cod
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Unesco World Heritage – Lofoten archipelago on the tentative list
{{authority control
Archipelagoes of Norway
Archipelagoes of the Norwegian Sea
Districts of Nordland
Fishing communities in Norway
Landforms of Nordland
Horsts (geology)
Important Bird Areas of Norway
Important Bird Areas of Arctic islands
Seabird colonies