Torsvåg is a

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

on the far northwestern coast of Vannøya island in

Karlsøy Municipality Karlsøy () is an island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hansnes. Other villages include Dåfjord, Hessfjord, Karlsøya ( ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

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 nearest city is

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 ...

about southwest of Torsvåg. There is much archeological evidence that show that there has been settlements in Torsvåg since the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

The village of Torsvåg includes a village area on the island of Vannøya and also an area on the islet of Kåja, located just offshore. There is a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

connecting the two places which forms a nice

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

surrounded by the fishing village. The

breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Breakwaters have been built since antiquity to protect anchorages, helping isolate vessels from marine hazards ...

at the entrance to the harbor form a snug port at the threshold of the big seas. The Vanna fish processing plant, «Torsvågbruket», is located on Kåja island and

Torsvåg Lighthouse Torsvåg Lighthouse () is a coastal lighthouse located in Karlsøy Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The lighthouse is in the village of Torsvåg on a small island connected to the main island of Vannøya by a short causeway. History The ...

is on the highest point of the island. Today, Torsvåg only has between 10 and 20 inhabitants, but earlier in its history this fishing village often had hundreds of residents.

History

A fishing village chapel has stood on Kirkesand, probably from the 15th century to the late 17th century. The priest for the

Helgøy Church Helgøy Church () is a historic parish church of the Church of Norway in Karlsøy Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located on the small unpopulated island of Helgøya. It is a little-used annex church for the Karlsøy parish which is p ...

parish lived here for a period, and the archbishop in Trondheim also had his man in Torsvåg to manage his interests. From the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

until the end of the 17th century, fishing flourished in Torsvåg, there were generally good economic times for both permanent residents and visiting seasonal fishermen. The most long-distance travelers must have come all the way from

Salten Salten is a traditional district in Nordland county, Norway. It includes the municipalities of Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen, and Hamarøy. Salten covers an area of about and has a population (2016) of about ...

. People also came from other countries and settled in Torsvåg. The fishing trade grew and Torsvåg was both a fishing village, a rowing village and a trading post. There was good trade and frequent yachting both to

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

and the cosmopolitan city of

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 ...

Climate

Torsvåg has a cool (subpolar/Cfc) oceanic climate, with small annual temperature range between summer and winter. The wettest season in autumn and winter, the driest season is spring and summer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torsvaag Karlsøy Villages in Troms