Sørvika is a village in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located along the Vågsfjorden on the island of Hinnøya about south of the town of Harstad SandtorgKirke

Its population (2001) is about 451. The village includes the ''Sørvik Barne- og Ungdomsskole'' school which houses grades 5 through 10, the ''Sørvik barnehage'' kindergarten, and the ''Sørvik eldrehjem'' retirement home. Sørvik also has its own soccer team called SMIL (''Sørvikmark Idrettslag''). There is also the

Sandtorg Church Sandtorg Church ( no, Sandtorg kirke or ) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Harstad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Sørvika on the east side of the island of Hinnøya. It is one of th ...

, a grocery store, and a gas station. In the churchyard are three British war graves.

Sørvik Rural Museum

There is also a rural/historical museum in boundary with the church and cemetery grounds, which is open every summer for visitors. The museum was founded in June 1953, and consists of several

log buildings Log buildings and structures can be categorized as historic and modern. A diverse selection of their forms and styles with examples of architectural elements is discussed in the following articles: *Log cabin – a rustic dwelling *Log house – a ...

moved from various locations near Harstad Municipality. The museum is a great opportunity to experience and view the average Norwegian home and lifestyle in the beginning of this century and earlier. The museum shows different log architecture since the 19th century and earlier, but also farming/fishing and everyday tools used in this period. Every museum event is normally advertised daily on signs by the road. There are also guides for tourist groups.

Vikevatnet

Vikevatnet is a lake located about northwest of Sørvika. Vikevatnet is formed by various small brooks from nearby fens, but mainly from its main water source from Vollstadheia. The outgoing stream/river, known as "Sørvikelva", ends by the coast of Sørvika. This river was earlier populated by salmon and

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are sewin (Wales), peel or peal ...

, but vanished because of the lack of continuous heavy water stream and earlier pollution. Vikevatnet is a popular fishing destination for families or fishing enthusiasts from all around Harstad Municipality and other nearby areas. The main population of fish consists of trout, Arctic char, and some freshwater eel ( Anguillidae). The surrounding properties are mainly owned by local farmers or other landed property. The lake is also a very popular bird destination, and you can often see rather rare (for this area) birds in this area including

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

, black-throated loon, dipper, snipe, Eurasian curlew,

Eurasian whimbrel The Eurasian whimbrel or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This specie ...

northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or (in Ireland and Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia. ...

, and a variety of freshwater ducks and grebe birds. File:vikevannet.jpg, Vikevatnet in summer. File:vikevannet trout.jpg, The most common guest of the waters is the Vikevatnet trout.

Metal community

Sørvika is locally known as a "metal-community". The

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...

movement is connected to the youth of the village. There have been several well-known bands that have their roots in the village. Examples are

Cat Eye The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

(who will soon sign their first record with a German company),

Flame Thrower A flamethrower is a ranged weapon, ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet (fluid), jet of fire. Greek fire, First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during Wo ...

(who won Norway's biggest amateur rock-contest Rock Mot Rus in 2005), Eternal Silence, and Monkey Business.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorvika Villages in Troms Harstad Populated places of Arctic Norway