Sørvik or Sørvika is a village in

Harstad Municipality ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland, ...

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 ...

. It is located along the Vågsfjorden on the island of

Hinnøya Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties. The western ...

about south of the town of Harstad SandtorgKirke

Its

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

(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 A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

. Sørvik also has its own soccer team called SMIL (''Sørvikmark Idrettslag''). There is also the Sandtorg Church, 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 A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

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 moved from various locations near

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

. 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.

Vikevannet

Vikevannet is a lake located about northwest of Sørvik. Vikevannet is formed by various small brooks from nearby

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...

s, but mainly from its main water source from Vollstadheia. The outgoing stream/river ends by the coast of Sørvik, also known as "Sørvikelva". This river was earlier populated by

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

and sea trout, but vanished because of the lack of continuous heavy water stream and earlier pollution. Vikevannet is a popular fishing destination for families or fishing enthusiasts from all around

and other nearby areas. The main population of fish consists of

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns in freshwater and populat ...

, and some freshwater eel (

Anguillidae The Anguillidae are a family of ray-finned fish that contains the freshwater eels. Eighteen of the 19 extant species and six subspecies in this family are in the genus ''Anguilla''. They are elongated fish with snake-like bodies, their long dorsa ...

) The surrounding properties are mainly owned by local farmers or other landed property. Vikevannet is also a very popular bird destination, and you can often see rather rare (in this area) birds in this area including swan,

black-throated loon The black-throated loon (''Gavia arctica''), also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winter ...

dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a ...

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...

, Eurasian whimbrel, northern lapwing, and a variety of freshwater ducks and

grebe Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes . Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably ...

birds. File:vikevannet.jpg, Vikevannet in summer. File:vikevannet trout.jpg, The most common guest of the waters is the Vikevannet trout.

Metal community

Sørvik is locally known as a "metal-community". The heavy metal music movement is connected to the youth of the village. There have been several well-known bands that have their roots in Sørvik. Examples are Cat Eye (who will soon sign their first record with a German company), Flame Thrower (who won Norway's biggest amateur rock-contest

Rock Mot Rus Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

in 2005), Eternal Silence and Monkey Business.

References

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