Sørøya ( sme, Sállan) is Norway's fourth largest island in terms of area. The island is divided between Hasvik Municipality and

Hammerfest Municipality Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerfe ...

. It is often claimed to be "one of the most beautiful" of the islands in Norway. In 2018, the population of the island was 1,100. Hespervika, Sørøya, Nórsko, 2013

The island is very rocky and mountainous. The highest point on the island is the tall mountain Komagaksla on the southern shore of the island. The coastline is very jagged and has numerous

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

s that cut inland from the open ocean. The island is surrounded by 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 ...

on the north and the

Sørøysundet Sørøysundet is a strait in Hasvik Municipality and Hammerfest Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The strait is between wide. The strait separates the large island of Sørøya from the islands of Stjernøya, Seiland, and Kval ...

strait to the south. Across the Sørøysundet to the south are three large islands:

Stjernøya Stjernøya ( sme, Stierdná) is an island in western Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The island sits at the mouth of the Altafjorden on the south side of the Sørøysundet strait. It is divided among the municipalities of Loppa, Hasvik Has ...

, Seiland and Kvaløya. The island of Sørøya has no bridge or tunnel access, only a regular ferry route from the village of

Hasvik Hasvik ( sme, Ákŋoluovtta gielda; fkv, Hasviikan komuuni) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Breivikbotn. Other villages in the municipality include Breivi ...

to the village of Øksfjord on the mainland.

Hasvik Airport Hasvik Airport ( no, Hasvik lufthavn; ) is a regional airport serving Hasvik Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The airport is located in the village of Hasvik on the island of Sørøya. In 2012, Hasvik Airport had 7,629 passen ...

is located on the southern tip of the island. Most settlements on the island are along the southwestern shore in Hasvik, but there are scattered settlements in other areas of the island as well. The northeastern part of the island in Hammerfest has some settlements as well with some roads, but the roads are not all connected to each other. There is no

upper secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

on the island.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, a guerrilla group operated on the island, fighting against the occupying German forces. On 15 February 1945, less than three months before the end of World War II in Europe, 525 Norwegian civilians were evacuated from Sørøya by four British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

destroyers and brought to safety in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

via

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The rescue operation was code named ''Operation Open Door''. Later in February and March, fighting between Norwegian volunteers and German soldiers resulted in six dead Norwegians and fourteen captured, while between 30 and 100 German soldiers were killed.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Soeroeya Islands of Troms og Finnmark Hammerfest Hasvik