Svolvær on the Lofoten

Thursday, 31 May 2012 - 01:23 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  3 minutes

Svolvær Harbour © Ernmuhl

Svolvær Harbour © Ernmuhl

Svolvær is the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality (9,200 inhabitants) in the Nordland County in Lofoten. The town itself has a population of 4,000.

The first town formation known in North Norway, Vågar, was situated around the narrow, natural harbor near Kabelvåg, just west of Svolvær. Vågar is mentioned in Heimskringla, and might have been established as early as 800. One of the first churches in North Norway was most likely built here, approximately 900 years ago. The great cod fisheries in winter has always been the most important economical foundation for the town, but fish farming (salmon) is also important in Vågan, as is Secora and Lofotkraft. Svolvær was given township privileges in 1918, but this was discontinued following a merge with neighbouring municipalities in 1964. Township was established again in 1996.

Town Center © Ernmuhl © Thomas Faivre-Duboz Svolvær - The Hurtigruten ship MS Kong Harald © Clemensfranz Svolvær Harbour © Vincent van Zeijst Svolvær Harbour © Floflo Svolvær from Kjeøya © Finn Rindahl Svolvær Church © Ole Erik Ruud Svolvær Airport © Algkal Svolvær Harbour © Ernmuhl
<
>
Svolvær - The Hurtigruten ship MS Kong Harald © Clemensfranz
Tourism is becoming increasingly important, and Svolvær is a transport hub and favourite starting point for tourists visiting the islands. Approximately 200,000 tourists visit Svolvær each year. A new 10 – storey high combined culture scene and hotel with 160 rooms opened in March 2009. Many artists have been inspired by the unique light in Lofoten, and there are many artists and galleries in Svolvær. There is also a well known World War II museum in town (Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum). Whale watching tours depart from Svolvær in late autumn and winter with a focus on Orca (Killer whales). Boat excursions to nearby Raftsundet strait and its famous branch Trollfjord is also arranged from Svolvær.

Read more on Town of Svolvær, Lofoten.info, Svolvær Airport, Hurtigruten, Wikivoyage Svolvær and Wikipedia Svolvær. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Therme Erding, the largest thermal bath complex in Europe

Therme Erding, the largest thermal bath complex in Europe

[caption id="attachment_27443" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Therme Erding/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Therme Erding is the largest thermal bath complex in Europe at 145,000 square metres (36 acres). It is 30 minutes ...

[ read more ]

Dutch National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam

Dutch National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam

[caption id="attachment_245131" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Nationaal Holocaust Museum © Ceescamel[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Dutch National Holocaust Museum (Dutch: Nationaal Holocaust museum) is the first official museum on...

[ read more ]

Biddestone in the Cotswolds

Biddestone in the Cotswolds

[caption id="attachment_235248" align="aligncenter" width="590"] The White Horse © geograph.org.uk - Stuart Logan/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Biddestone is a village and civil parish in northwest Wiltshire, England, about ...

[ read more ]

The brig Roald Amundsen

The brig Roald Amundsen

[caption id="attachment_220763" align="aligncenter" width="590"] at Kieler Woche 2007 © VollwertBIT/cc-by-sa-2.5[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Roald Amundsen (often abbreviated Roald; named in honor of Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amun...

[ read more ]

Pleasanton in California

Pleasanton in California

[caption id="attachment_231577" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Michael C. Berch/cc-by-sa-2.5[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is a subur...

[ read more ]

Port Everglades on the Atlantic

Port Everglades on the Atlantic

[caption id="attachment_151444" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Port Everglades entrance channel © Jpkolo/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Port Everglades is a seaport in Broward County, Florida. As one of South Florida's lead...

[ read more ]

Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan

Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan

[caption id="attachment_240080" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Lobby © Historystuff2/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel; colloquially The Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street in the...

[ read more ]

Warsaw Old Town

Warsaw Old Town

[caption id="attachment_192275" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Castle Square © Adrian Grycuk/cc-by-sa-3.0-pl[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Warsaw Old Town is the oldest part of Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. It is bounded by t...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Ukraine - Dnipropetrovsk on the Dnieper River

Theme Week Ukraine - Dnipropetrovsk on the Dnieper River

[caption id="attachment_160871" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Hoodrat/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Dnipropetrovsk is Ukraine's fourth largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine...

[ read more ]

Venice Beach in California

Venice Beach in California

[caption id="attachment_229335" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Sunrise at Venice Beach Pier © flickr.com - Jeff Turner/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Venice Beach is part of Venice, a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles wi...

[ read more ]

Building automation

Building automation

[caption id="attachment_3042" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="© gira.com"][/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Building automation describes the functionality provided by the control system of a building. A building automation system ...

[ read more ]

Theme Week North Frisian Islands - Pellworm

Theme Week North Frisian Islands - Pellworm

[caption id="attachment_152906" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © nordseetourismus.de[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Pellworm is an island within the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. Its area is 37 km², and its population is...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top