Honningsvåg is the northernmost city/town in mainland

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located in

Nordkapp Municipality Nordkapp (; or ; or ) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Honningsvåg, where most residents live. Other settlements in Nordkapp include the villages of Gjesvær, Kåfjor ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

county. Honningsvåg was declared a city in 1996, despite its small population. The town has a population of 2,245 (2023), which gives the town a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of . Honningsvåg is situated at a bay on the southeastern side of the large island of

Magerøya or is a large island in Finnmark county, in the extreme northern part of Norway. The island lies along the Barents Sea in Nordkapp Municipality, just north of the Porsanger Peninsula. The mouth of Porsangerfjorden lies off the east coast of t ...

, while the famous North Cape and its visitor center are on the northern side of the island. Honningsvåg is a port of call for Hurtigruten Coastal Express and

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as " ...

, especially in the summer months. The ice-free ocean (the southwestern part of the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

) provides rich fisheries and tourism is also important to the town. Even at 71°N, many private gardens in Honningsvåg have trees, although rarely more than tall. The famous dog Bamse that became the mascot of the

Free Norwegian Forces The Norwegian armed forces in exile () were remnants of the armed forces of Norway that continued to fight the Axis Powers, Axis powers from Allies of World War II, Allied countries, such as United Kingdom, Britain and Canada, after they had escap ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

came from Honningsvåg.

Transportation

Honningsvåg is one of the main stops of the

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally, and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports ...

coastal ships on their lengthy route along the Norwegian coast between

Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...

in the north and

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

in the south. The northbound ships to Kirkenes dock in the port from 11:15 to 14:45, generating heavy tourist activity in the city. The southbound ships to Bergen make a short stop around 05:30. The Honningsvåg Airport, located north of the town, offer flights mainly to

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

, with connecting service to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Bus line 110 links to Alta.

History

The area was first settled in prehistory, as early as 10,300 years ago. The sea was probably the main food source.

City status

Honningsvåg was declared a city in 1996 by the municipal council of Nordkapp. National legislation was passed in 1997 that states that a Norwegian city must have at least 5,000 inhabitants, but since Honningsvåg was declared a city in 1996, it was exempt from this legislation. This makes it one of the smallest cities in Norway.

Name

The town (originally it was a village) is named after the old ''Honningsvaag'' farm (). The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It may be from , an old name (no longer used) for the nearby mountain ''Storefjell'' (). This mountain has a tall, hornlike peak near Honningsvåg which would imply that the name was derived from the word ''

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

''. The last element is which means "inlet" or "

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

". The full name thus means "the bay lying beneath the mountain ''Hornungr''."

Climate

Even though Honningsvåg is located at the northernmost extreme of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, it has a subarctic climate (not a polar climate; barely qualifying for ''Dfc'' when the isotherm of -3 C (27 F) is used), thanks to the

North Atlantic Drift The North Atlantic Current (NAC), also known as North Atlantic Drift and North Atlantic Sea Movement, is a powerful warm western boundary current within the Atlantic Ocean that extends the Gulf Stream northeastward. Characteristics The NAC ...

. Winter temperatures are softened by the ice-free ocean, and are extremely mild for the polar latitude, even milder than winters at Oslo Airport which is located and 11 degrees of latitude further south. Located on the coast, Honningsvåg can experience strong winter storms and blizzard conditions, sometimes closing the road connection. On 29 December 2008, winds were recorded at 81 mph. Snow cover can be deep in winter, threatening avalanches in steep terrain. Precipitation is evenly spread throughout the year, but with a little peak in autumn. Honningsvåg has a polar day with midnight sun from 13 May to 31 July. From 21 November to 21 January, the sun is below the horizon (polar night). On 29 June 2022 a new record high was set with .

Media gallery

39 Honningsvåg.jpg Honningsvåg 02.jpg Honningsvag view 01.jpg Honningsvaag Altsula.JPG FISKERNES SERVICESTASJON, 5.jpg Área de camping, Honningsvåg, Noruega, 2019-09-03, DD 67.jpg Sun Viking Nordkapp 1993.jpg , '' Sun Viking'' at Honningsvåg in 1993

Notable people

Notes

References

External links

Visit Nordkapp
– history and culture of the North Cape area
Visitnorway.com
– about Honningsvåg {{DEFAULTSORT:Honningsvaag Populated places in Finnmark Nordkapp Port cities and towns in Norway Cities and towns in Norway Barents Sea Magerøya 1996 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1996