Skafferhullet is a historical

border crossing Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

point along the

Norway–Russia border The border between Norway and Russia ( no, Russergrensen / Russergrensa, russian: Российско-норвежская граница, ''Rossiysko-Norvezhskaya Granitsa'') consists of a land border between Sør-Varanger, Norway, and Pech ...

(formerly it was on the

Finland–Norway border The border between Norway and Finland is long. It is a land and river border between two tripoints. The western tripoint is marked by Treriksröset, a concrete cairn where both countries border Sweden. The eastern tripoint is marked by Trer ...

and Soviet–Norway border). The border crossing site was located on the old road between Elvenes in

Sør-Varanger Municipality Sør-Varanger ( sme, Máttá-Várjjat, fkv, Etelä-Varenki, fi, Etelä-Varanki, russian: Сёр-Вара́нгер/Syor-Varánger) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

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 ...

and Borisoglebsky in

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The station lies on the western shore of the

Pasvikelva The Paatsjoki River ( fi, Paatsjoki, sms, Paaččjokk, sme, Báhčaveaijohka, no, Pasvikelva, sv, Pasvik älv, russian: Паз or Патсойоки, ''Paz or Patsoyoki'') is a river that flows through Finland, Norway, and Russia. Since 1826 ...

river. Since this site is now closed, the only other border crossing from Norway into Russia is at the nearby border crossing at

Storskog Storskog is a border crossing station on the Norwegian side of the Norway-Russia border, along the European route E105 highway. The crossing is located in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county on the Norway side of the border. The Russia ...

on the newer

European route E105 E105 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe. It is a north–south reference road, meaning it crosses Europe from north to south and other E-road numbers have been calculated based on these referenc ...

highway.

History

During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

the Soviet–Norway border was closed for long periods. There was some traffic via Skafferhullet during the construction of the Boris Gleb hydroelectric station from 1958 to 1963. When the construction period was over, the guardhouses were removed, and a solid fence set up. In the summer of 1965, the border was open for Scandinavian tourists, who were allowed to visit a heavily guarded area around Borisoglebsky. Several thousand Norwegians crossed into during that summer season to visit, but no Soviets crossed into Norway. Due to some issues (like alcohol smuggling) that summer, Norwegian authorities refused to participate again, so the border was kept closed in 1966 and the following years.

References

Norway–Russia border crossings Sør-Varanger {{Finnmark-geo-stub