Bjørnfjell ( sme, Bonjovárri) is a mountain and village of holiday cottages in

Narvik Municipality ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ba ...

in Nordland 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 ...

. It's located along the Ofotbanen railway line and the

European route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about 850 km (530 mi) in length. The Norwegian part of the ...

highway, just west of the border with Sweden. There is a railway station and the Bjørnfjell Chapel as well as many cabins and homes in the area. The name Bjørnfjell for short may often refer to the Bjørnfjell Railway Station. The area is a popular vacation spot for residents of Narvik.

History

The mountain got its name during the planning of the railway line in 1883. The old railway station was named Bjørnefjell while it was being used from 1912 to 1925. A new railway station was constructed in 1921 and the name of the new station dropped the middle e from the spelling. The Battle of Bjørnefjell occurred on 15 April 1940 as part of the Narvik Campaign 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 Norwegian company which had escaped from the city of Narvik by traveling along the railway line during the German invasion of April 9 was defeated by superior German forces. After capturing the Bjørnfjell area, the Germans used the area to drop supplies and soldiers from

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

airplanes. The stone cottage "Solheimsbrakka" was used as headquarters by the Lieutenant General

Eduard Dietl Eduard Wohlrat Christian Dietl (21 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 20th Mountain Army. He was magnanimously awarded of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Na ...

during most of the Battle of Narvik. A German prison camp was later established north west of Bjørnfjell. Yugoslav partisans were interned there, and 238 died. In 1942, there were massacres of POWs at Beisfjord and Bjørnfjell.

History

References

See also