North Cape, Norway
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The North Cape (; ) is a
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
on the northern coast of the island of Magerøya in Northern Norway. The cape is in Nordkapp Municipality in
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,
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 ...
. The
European route E69 European route E69 is an European Route, E-road between Olderfjord and North Cape, Norway, North Cape in northern Norway. The road is long. It contains five tunnels, totalling . The longest, the North Cape Tunnel, is long and reaches below s ...
motorway (highway) has its northern terminus at the North Cape, which makes it the northernmost point in Europe that can be accessed by car and makes the E69 the northernmost public road in Europe. The plateau is a popular
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...
. The cape includes a with a large flat plateau on top, where visitors, weather permitting, can watch the
midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
and views of the Barents Sea to the north. North Cape Hall, a visitor centre, was built in 1988 on the plateau. It includes a café, restaurant, post office, souvenir shop, a small museum, and video cinema.


Geography

The steep cliff of the North Cape is located at , about from the North Pole. Nordkapp is often inaccurately referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. However, the neighbouring Knivskjellodden Cape actually extends further north. Furthermore, both of these points are situated on an island ( Magerøya), albeit one connected by road to the mainland. The northernmost point of mainland Europe is located at Cape Nordkinn () which lies about further south and about to the east. That point is located near the village of Mehamn on the
Nordkinn Peninsula Cape Nordkinn ( or ) at is the northernmost point on the Nordkinn Peninsula in county, Norway. It is notable for being the extreme points of Norway, northernmost point of mainland Norway, and by extension the extreme points of Europe, northernm ...
. The northernmost point of Europe including islands, is hundreds of kilometers further north, either in Russia's Franz Josef Land or Norway's
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
archipelago, depending on whether Franz Josef Land is considered to be in Europe or in Asia. The North Cape is the point where the Norwegian Sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, meets the Barents Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean. The
midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
can be seen from 14 May to 31 July. The sun reaches its lowest point between 12:14 am and 12:24 am (00:14 and 00:24) during those days.


Transport

The North Cape is reached by
European route E69 European route E69 is an European Route, E-road between Olderfjord and North Cape, Norway, North Cape in northern Norway. The road is long. It contains five tunnels, totalling . The longest, the North Cape Tunnel, is long and reaches below s ...
highway through the North Cape Tunnel, an undersea tunnel connecting the island of Magerøya to the mainland. The EuroVelo bicycle routes EV1, EV7 and EV11 connect the North Cape to Sagres, Portugal,
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
and
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, respectively. Several cruise ships visit the North Cape every year. Honningsvåg is one of the main stops of the Hurtigruten coastal ships. Regular buses run from the nearby town of Honningsvåg to the North Cape (), and coaches meet the many cruise ships that call at the port of Honningsvåg. The nearest airport is Honningsvåg Valan Airport (HVG), which offers several flights to and from Tromsø Langnes International Airport (TOS). Road distance to the North Cape from different towns with airports: * Honningsvåg; * Lakselv; * Hammerfest; * Alta; * Kirkenes; *
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 ...
;


Winter

It is possible to visit the North Cape during winter, but there is often heavy snow and wind and the last stretch of road is only open for convoys at certain times. The road to the North Cape is kept open during winter and is accessible to regular vehicles and drivers who can cope with the snow and wind conditions that may occur in winter. Before this, E69 was the only winter-closed E-route in Europe.


History

The North Cape was named by the Englishman Steven Borough, captain of the '' Edward Bonaventure'', which sailed past in 1553 in search of the Northeast Passage.


Early tourism

The North Cape became a popular tourist destination during the last decades of the nineteenth century, especially after King Oscar II's visit in 1873. Regular coastal steamer routes from Germany to Northern Norway established in this period facilitated these visits, and Thomas Cook & Son began arranging tours to the destination as early as 1875. Tourists who climbed the cape would often do so using a path equipped with wired ropes from Hornviken. They would often celebrate the visit with the writing of postcards, so-called "Cape cards", gazing at the midnight sun.


Monuments and buildings

A granite column was erected commemorating the visit of King Oscar II of Norway and Sweden in 1873 and the visit of German Kaiser
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
(in 1891) was also marked with a memorial. In 1891–92, an octagonal wooden building was erected on top of the cape, later named "Stoppenbrinck's" (or "Stoppenbrink's") "Champagne Pavilion".


World War II

In 1943, the Battle of the North Cape was fought in the Arctic Ocean off this cape, where the German battleship ''Scharnhorst'' was eventually sunk by gunfire from the British battleship HMS ''Duke of York'' and torpedoes from the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS ''Stord'', and other ships of the British Navy.


Road access

A road to the North Cape was first built in 1956.


Admission fee courtcase

As of Q3 2022, the justice system has decided that money will not be charged for parking n the parking lotat the North Cape; the government has won the case in the appellate court also; the defendant has appealed to the supreme court, as of Q3 2022. (The courtcase started in 2021.) As of 2022, admission to the North Cape visitor centre cost per adult 6 years and older- and 90 for child between 7-years old and 15-years old. Often there is fog (since the plateau is above the common cloud base), which obscures the view. There is no discount for this situation, but the full price ticket is valid for multiple entries within 24 hours. In 2000, and again in 2011, the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment responded to pressure from interest groups and asked Nordkapps VEL, the company that maintains the site, to reduce the admission fee to the plateau. Nordkapps VEL responded that the 8,000 daily visitors and distant location places great demands on the operations, maintenance, and security of the facilities and natural features of the large site. Visitors arriving by foot, bicycle, or other non-motorized vehicles are nowadays offered free entrance.


Sport and leisure

The 2009 Trans Europe Foot Race started in Bari, Italy and finished at North Cape. The total distance was . The NorthCape4000 is a bicycle race that finishes at the North Cape. The total distance is around . The first stage of the 2014 Arctic Race of Norway was held on the North Cape on 14 August 2014. The bicycle race started in Hammerfest, finishing on the North Cape and was won by Norwegian, Lars Petter Nordhaug for in a time of 4 hours 51 minutes 3 seconds. ''Norge På Langs'' is a classic ski route, which stretches from Lindesnes, the most southerly tip of Norway to Nordkapp in the far north. The record of cycling this distance is 4 days, 22 hours, and 18 minutes which was performed by a group of five men from Rye in Oslo, in July 2003. The E1 European long distance path begins in the North Cape and extends for 7,114 km south to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
.


In popular culture

Footage from the North Cape is featured frequently in films and television, most notably in the 2014 action comedy film '' Børning'', which revolves around an illegal street race from south of
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 ...
to the North Cape.


Gallery

North Cape. Restaurant Kompasset - panoramio.jpg, North Cape Hall Mageröya Nordkaphalle.JPG, Entrance of North Cape Hall Nordkap 3 2012-08-17.jpg, Children of the World sculpture North cape battle memorial plaque.jpg, Battle of North Cape commemorative plaque Northcap02.jpg, Midnight at the North Cape Nordkapp (North Cape).jpg, North Cap Milestone Peder Balke-Nordkapp.jpg , ''Nordkapp'' by Peder Balke (1804–1887) Knivskjellodden Varde.jpg, Norwegian National Trekking Association cairn (at Knivskjellodden) Obelisk in North Cape by King Oscar II 01.jpg, King Oscar II Obelisk


References


External links


North Cape Museum official website

Tourist information

Pictures from Skarsvåg and North Cape


{{authority control Extreme points of Norway Headlands of Norway Landforms of Finnmark Magerøya Nordkapp Tourist attractions in Finnmark