Vardø and the Varanger Peninsula – in the extreme northeast of Norway. At the border of Russia. Where the road ends.
What is there to find is such a remote location? I will tell you – a scenery taken straight out of Game of Thrones and a quaint fishing village with so much charm you’ll never want to leave.
Vardø is also where you need to go if you want to visit the Bird Island Hornøya to be surrounded 80.000 seabirds. More to come on Hornøya in a later post.
The locals
Vardø
Vardø has a 1000 year history capturing everything from the Pomor trade to witch craft and fisheries. Today about 2000 people live in this arctic municipality. That Vardø has an arctic climate is supported by the need for woollen underwear even during summer, the average temperature in July i 9.2 C.
From Vardø harbour
Even though the fishing industry is less important than it used to be it is still a large part of life and culture. Walking through the harbour shows a mix of old retired fisheries and modern industry.
Old ramshackle along the coast
One of the places you don’t want to miss is Steilnes Memorial – also called The Witches’ Memorial. It takes us back to a gruesome period of witch trials held in Finnmark during the 17th century.
91 victims where accused of witch craft and burned. Inside the memorial building you can read the stories of each and one of the victims. The witch trails happened all over Europe, but relative to the population a large number were burned in Finnmark.
Steilnes Memorial building
Inside Steilnes Memorial building
From Vardø we decided to take a day trip and drive along Barents Sea following the National Tourist Route to Hamningberg. The landscape is barren in this arctic climate zone, but you will find serenity along the road.
I was amazed by the scenery, a narrow road winding like a snake surrounded by sharp rocks. I wouldn’t be surprised if John Snow showed up around the next turn…
The road to Hamningberg
At the end of the road you’ll get to the former fishing village Hamningberg. Hamningberg was, unlike the rest of Finnmark, not destroyed during WWII and you will find old traditional houses here.
Looking around not seeing a single tree you might question where the old lumber buildings came from. During the pomor trade, which is trade between Russians and the people along the coast of Norway, the Norwegians traded fish for lumber and corn.
Old Hamningberg village
Back in Vardø we stopped by the star-shaped Vardøhus fortress. It is the northernmost fortress in the world and was built to guard the boarder towards Russia, but has had a fairly peaceful history.
Vardø is far above the arctic circle and has 2 months of darkness every winter. When the sun can be seen again in the end of January the fortress fires two salutes to celebrate.
Vardøhus Fortress
Before leaving we took a final walk down to the harbour to enjoy the charming old buildings, the colourful fishing boats and street art on the buildings. The street art is a result of Komafest, which is an artistic project by street artist Pøbel 55 where building walls were covered in art work.
Vardø – we will be back!
Beautiful pictures.
Much appreciated! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this remarkable village enviornment. Sounds like a place you could throw something into the air and when it came down it would be frozen. BRRRRRR!
Thank you Dan! It is truly a remarkable environment. I got a bit curious so had to google the winter temperatures in Vardø. It turns out it actually doesn’t get that cold during winter (average in January is about -5C/23 F). Probably because it is by the sea (Gulf stream) and therefore somewhat heated by it. Don’t get me wrong, it is probably a harsh winter as the village is quite exposed to weather and winds:)
Nice to read your cool stories about the real North again. That witches were burnt also in the Finmark quite strange @ Ulli
I guess the witch burning spread all around Europa. Not sure why it became so bad in Finnmark. But it happened in a period where a lot of other bad things happens (weather, crops etc) so they probably needed a way to explain why these things happened… Thank you so much for stopping by Ulli! 🙂
Yes, beautiful photos perfectly showcasing the stark beauty of the area. I can appreciate it and even want to visit it, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I could deal with 24 hours of daylight, but those two months of darkness would NOT be for me.
janet
Much appreciated Janet! I love the north, but in this case I’d have to agree with you. A wonderful place to visit, but I think I’d like to live a place a bit more protected against harsh weather:) The darkness I would be ok with – that is when you see the beautiful northern light playing in the sky! 🙂
I’d love to see the northern lights but maybe not every day/night for several months. 🙂
Stunning place and photos.
Thank you very much! 🙂
Prachtige reportage en erg mooie beelden.wat s het daar mooi om e bezoeken maar zou er niet kunnen leven met 2 maanden duidternis.Mijn vorige blog natuutfreak was vol.Ik heb nu een nieuw blog .
http://natuurfreak1.wordpress.com
Altijd welkom
Fijn weekend
Marylou
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Marylou! 2 months of darkness is not for everyone for sure… 🙂 Thank you for providing me the link to your new blog!
Beautiful photos all of them. Very happy to see your work again Inger 🙂
Best wishes,
Takami
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Takami! And thanks for stopping by:)
xoxo Inger
What a fascinating place! Thank you for sharing all the interesting stories.The witch hunts were terrible times in history…so sad, because people hardly relied on science. Beautiful photo’s!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! Hard to believe all the gruesome stories from the witch hunt. Don’t think science was in the picture at all…
Thank you so much for stopping by:)
xoxo Inger
Interesting storie and impressive pictures!
Much appreciated Simone! 🙂
Breath taking photos! Too cold for me and I don’t know about two months of darkness, but seeing the northern lights would probably make it worth it.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Arlene, much appreciated! The 2 months for darkness if for sure not for everyone. Winter depression is not an unknown term when you live above the arctic circle. But the northern light at least makes up for some of the darkness!
xoxo Inger
What incredible light! Some of the yellows are almost supernatural; I think I’d travel there just to see the light glint off the water as it does in your photos.
Thank you s much for the lovely comment! I’ve always thought the light up north is special, glad you agree 🙂
xoxo Inger
Nice to see you back on WordPress!
That monument is quite touching, wish other European nations paid some sort of hommage to those who have been burnt at the stake for phony reasons… especially women.
Thank you! Life got a bit more busy after returning to Norway, but I try to squeeze in some time for WP 🙂
Reading the stories on the wall inside the monument was even more touching, didn’t take much to be accused of being a witch it seems like.
Thank you so much for stopping by!
xoxo Inger
Stunning images, really!
Thank you so much! 🙂
That’s a very interesting story you tell us Inger and accompanied by some lovely photos!
Thank you so much Greta and happy to see you visit:) I love visiting these remote locations and learning their history.
xoxo Inger
That’s what I like about blogging, getting to know remote places thru the eyes of other observers😀
Oh my god..is very beautiful scenery..
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! And happy to see you visiting:)
xoxo Inger
Beautiful location and beautiful images!! My favorite is the old ramshackle along the coast. Also, the interior of the memorial building is a great capture. Bravo!
Much appreciated – thanks for the awesome comment on my photos. I love those old buildings – seeming like they will collapse in the next winter storm:)
xoxo Inger
Hi guys! What an interesting visit and adventure. I hope I get to make it up that far north one day in Europe. So far, I’ve only made it up to the Arctic circle in Alaska.
Despite it being cold, it must be a fascinating time to visit, as you probably had “midnight sun” in the summer. The peace would attract me as well, and I love the blue skies and the photos. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Liesbet, thanks for the lovely comment! We actually visited a few weeks late to have the midnight sun – meaning it was sunshine until 10-11 pm, but at midnight it was just under the horizon. Still beautiful time of year up north! Alaska is beautiful btw, love it up there and with I could spend more time exploring it!
Where in the world are you guys now?
xoxo Inger
San Diego, California. Sunny blue skies, but we are still missing the tropics. We will be in this area throughout the winter. 🙂
Glad to find your blog still running :). I had a long break and try to catch up now.
I enjoyed this post! Recently checking the map I thought of the North of Norway, and discovered the tunnel to the Vardo 🙂 I was so very excited about it ! And now there is your post, it is just amazing 🙂 Great that you are still going strong with your blog.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! Happy to see you visiting:)
How funny that you are checking maps of northern Norway – planning a trip up north maybe? I had almost forgotten about the tunnel to Vardø. It was actually the first subsea tunnel in Norway.
xoxo Inger
Yes, I was thinking of a far north trip next summer. It is 40 years since I last time experienced the midnight sun 🙂 I saw those dots across the water on the map and was intrigued. Then I read your blog 🙂 What an interesting coincidence.
Lovely photos with superb lighting. Well done, Inger. 🙂
Thank you so much Frank – much appreciated! 🙂
xoxo Inger
Beautiful! But two months of darkness. I could not do it. I hate short days. I’d love to,live where the days are 12-14 hours long.
Then you would love to live there during summer when the days are 24 hours long!! 🙂
xoxo Inger
Interesting….a part of the world we don’t know in North America about Norway.
Beautiful photos, the light is wonderful!
It is a nice place but too cold for me! Although I would like to see the northern lights and capture them with my camera. 🙂 I enjoyed your series of photos and the story around it… Thanks for sharing!
Best regards, Heidi