Vardøya is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in Vardø Municipality in

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...

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 the ...

. The island is the location of the town of

Vardø ( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administr ...

. The island sits about east of the mainland

Varanger Peninsula The Varanger Peninsula ( no, Varangerhalvøya; sme, Várnjárga; fkv, Varenkinniemi) is a peninsula in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the northeasternmost part of Norway, along the Barents Sea. The peninsula has the Tanafjorden to ...

. The island is connected to the mainland by the

Vardø Tunnel The Vardø Tunnel ( no, Vardøtunnelen) is a subsea road tunnel in Vardø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The long two-lane tunnel under the Bussesundet strait connects the island of Vardøya to the village of Svartnes on th ...

, the first subsea tunnel that was built in Norway. The tunnel is part of the

European route E75 European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe. The E 75 starts at the town of Vardø in Norway by the Barents Sea and it runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, ...

highway, which has its terminus at the town of Vardø. The small island of Hornøya (where the Vardø Lighthouse sits) is to the northeast of Vardøya. Vardo Ort und Kirche

History

The island was probably originally two separate islands with a small strait between them; sometime during the Middle Ages a human-made

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

was built connecting the two islands. Today there is a wide isthmus called ''Valen'' that connects both sides of Vardøya. Between the two parts of Vardøya is a long harbor. The town of Vardø was built up on this island primarily because it was the site of the

Vardøhus Fortress Vardøhus Fortress ( no, Vardøhus festning) is located in Vardø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the town of Vardø on the island of Vardøya on the Barents Sea near the mouth of the Varangerfjord in northeas ...

(the island was often historically referred to as ''Vardöhuus'', after the fortress). The fortress was originally built in 1306 and it is still in operation today. The island (and fortress) were made famous by the historic 1553 voyage in search of the fabled Northeast passage. As the vessels rounded the rocky shores of Northern Norway they came in conflict with a 'whirlwind'. Two of the three ships (The ''Bona Esperanza'' and the ''Confidentia'') were blown off course. The ''Bona Esperanza'' was captained by Sir

Hugh Willoughby Sir Hugh Willoughby (fl. 1544; died 1554) was an English soldier and an early Arctic voyager. He served in the court of and fought in the Scottish campaign where he was knighted for his valour. In 1553, he was selected by a company of London ...

, a man of 'goodly personage' but one who had absolutely no knowledge of navigation. The expedition leader,

Richard Chancellor Richard Chancellor (died 10 November 1556) was an English explorer and navigator; the first to penetrate to the White Sea and establish relations with the Tsardom of Russia. Life Chancellor, a native of Bristol, was brought up in the household ...

had planned for such an eventuality, suggesting that the ships regroup at ''Vardöhuus''. After waiting seven days and hearing nothing of either ship, he pushed eastward towards the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

References

Vardø Islands of the Barents Sea Islands of Troms og Finnmark {{TromsFinnmark-island-stub

History

See also

References