Hammerfest

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Hammerfest kommune
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms Finnmark within Norway
Hammerfest within Finnmark
Coordinates: 70°39′50″N 23°41′24″E / 70.66389, 23.69
Country	Norway
County	Finnmark
Municipality ID	NO-2004
Administrative centre	Hammerfest
Government
- Mayor (2007)	Kristine Jørstad Bock (Ap) [1]
Area (Nr. 129 in Norway)
- Total	849 km² (327.8 sq mi)
- Land	819 km² (316.2 sq mi)
Population (2005)
- Total	9,261
- Density	11/km² (28.5/sq mi)
- Change (10 years)	-4.0 %
- Rank in Norway	113
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Official language form	Neutral
Demonym	Hammerfesting[2]
Data from Statistics Norway
Website: www.hammerfest.kommune.no

Hammerfest (help·info) is a city and municipality in the county of Finnmark, Norway. The municipality encompasses parts of three islands; Kvaløya, Sørøya and Seiland.

Hammerfest was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of low population, and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for Hammerfest in 1838. (See also Vadsø and Vardø.)

The rural district of Hammerfest (Sørøysund) was separated from the city January 1, 1852 - but it was again merged with the city January 1, 1992. (But without the area of Kvalsund, which was separated from Sørøysund as a municipality of its own 1869.)

Contents 1 The name 2 Coat-of-arms 3 Geography 4 Economy and tourism 5 Reindeer issues 6 Sister cities 7 Foreign consulates 8 History 8.1 Napoleonic Wars 8.1.1 British attack 8.1.2 Improved fortifications 8.2 Fire of 1890 8.3 Electric street lighting 8.4 Destruction in WWII 9 Villages in Hammerfest 10 Notable people from Hammerfest 11 References 12 Literature 13 External links

[edit] The name

The town is named after an old anchorage. The first element is hammer, referring to a number of large rocks, good for mooring boats, called Hamran. (These were covered up in land reclaiming during the early post-war years). The last element is fest for 'fastening' (for boats).

[edit] Coat-of-arms

Main article: Coat of arms of Hammerfest

The coat-of-arms is from 1938. It shows a polar bear.

[edit] Geography

Hammerfest claims to be the northernmost city in the world, although the title is disputed by Honningsvåg, Norway, Barrow, Alaska and Longyearbyen, Svalbard. The validity of the claim depends upon one's definition of a city; Hammerfest is the world's northernmost settlement of more than 5,000 inhabitants. It is also the oldest town in North Norway. The town of Hammerfest is situated on the island of Kvaløya, with road connection to the mainland using the Kvalsund Bridge.

In spite of the extreme northern location, there is no permafrost, as the mean annual temperature is approximately 2°C, about the same as Anchorage which is located at a latitude of 61° North. Monthly 24-hr averages range from -5°C in January to 11.5°C in July. Mean annual precipitation is 820 mm. The driest months are May, June and July, with on average 50 mm rainfall each month. The wettest period is October through December.^[3] Hammerfest often experiences heavy snowfall in winter, and on some occasions, avalanches or risk of avalanches have forced some inhabitants to be evacuated from their exposed homes until the danger was over.^[4]

[edit] Economy and tourism

The construction of the large LNG site on Melkøya (island) just off Hammerfest, which will process natural gas from Snøhvit, is the most expensive construction project in the history of North Norway. This project has resulted in an economic boom and new optimism in Hammerfest in recent years, a stark contrast to the economic downhill and negative population growth most other municipalities in Finnmark are experiencing.^[5][6][7][8] After the opening of natural gas production on Melkøya there has been encountered some problems, with significant smoke and soot pollution in the initial production phases.^[9]

Hammerfest offers sport and commercial fishing, both sea and freshwater, as well as scuba diving. The northernmost glacier on the Norwegian mainland is a popular hiking destination. The town is a popular starting point for northern tours. There is a daily boat to the North Cape (Nordkapp). One chain of the Struve Geodetic Arc, now on the World Heritage List, is located at Fuglenes in Hammerfest.

Hammerfest is also a center of Sami culture.

Hammerfest is connected to the main road network by route 94 which branches off from European route E6. The town is a port of call for the Hurtigruten ship route. Hammerfest also has Finnmark's third largest airport, Hammerfest Airport, opened since July 30, 1974. Up until the opening of the airport the only air link to Hammerfest was by seaplane, the first route established in 1936.^[10]

[edit] Reindeer issues

During summer massive reindeer herds migrate from their winter pastures in the inner parts of Finnmark to the coast. Among the islands inhabited by reindeer during the summer months is Kvaløya, the island on which Hammerfest town is located. For years many of the 2,500 to 3,000 reindeer in the area have been walking into the town itself, wandering in the streets and among the houses. Although very popular amongst tourist this has been less favourably received by the town's population, with people complaining of traffic disturbances and the dung and urine left by the animals. For hygienic reasons large sums of money would have to be spent every year at cleaning up after the animals.^[11] In response to the complaints the town authorities has built a 12 miles (19.31 km) long 4 feet (1.22 m) high fence encircling the town to block the animals out. However, as of the 2007 reindeer season the fence has been ineffective, with reindeer managing to pass through on road crossings despite the presence of embedded grates.^[12]

[edit] Sister cities

Hammerfest is town twinned with the following foreign settlements:

• - Ikast, Denmark^[13]
• - Petersburg, Alaska, United States^[14]
• - Tornio, Finland^[15]
• - Trelleborg, Sweden^[13]
• - Ushuaia, Argentina^{[citation needed]}
• - Mokpo, South Korea^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Foreign consulates

Denmark,^[16] Sweden,^[17] Finland^[18] and the Netherlands^[19] have honorary consulates in Hammerfest.

[edit] History

Many grave sites dating back to the Stone Age can be found here. This location was an important fishing and Arctic hunting settlement for a long time before it was given city status by royal decree of Christian VII of Denmark-Norway in 1789.

[edit] Napoleonic Wars

During the Napoleonic Wars Denmark-Norway was attacked by the UK and forced into the conflict on the side of Napoleon and France. As one of the main centres of commerce and communications in western Finnmark Hammerfest became a natural target of the Royal Navy's blockading warships. Thus, on the request of local merchants, the town received four six-pound cannon from the central armoury in Trondheim. Subsequently, a 50-men strong coastal defence militia was formed to defend Hammerfest. A number of merchants formed the officer corps of the militia, while Sea Samis and Kvens were mobilized as gun crews and soldiers.

[edit] British attack

On 22 July 1809 the expected British attack came when the brigs Snake and Fancy approached the town. Before reaching Hammerfest the British vessels had looted the village of Hasvik, laying waste to the small fishing community. The following battle between Hammerfest's two two-cannon batteries and the British warships with a total of 32 cannon was surprisingly intense and did not end before the Norwegian cannons had run out of gun powder after about 90 minutes of combat. Both attacking warships had suffered a number of cannonball hits and had at least one fatal casualty, a sailor, who was buried at the local cemetery. During the battle the local populace had been able to make good their escape with most of the town's goods, but the raiding warships still stayed in the good port of Hammerfest for eight days. During their stay the Royal Navy sailors looted all they could get their hands on, including the church donation box and some of the church's silver.

[edit] Improved fortifications

After the raid Hammerfest became a garrison town with some regular troops and much improved and expanded fortifications. A small flotilla of cannon-armed rowing boats also operated out of Hammerfest for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars.

[edit] Fire of 1890

Hammerfest was struck by a fire in 1890 which started in the bakery and wiped out almost half the town's houses. After the fire Hammerfest received donations and humanitarian assistance from across the world; the biggest single donor being Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. The Kaiser had personally visited the town several times on his yacht and had great affection for the small northern settlement.

[edit] Electric street lighting

In 1891 Hammerfest became the first urban settlement in Northern Europe to get electrical street lights. The invention was brought to Hammerfest by two of the town's merchants who had seen it demonstrated at a fair in Paris.

[edit] Destruction in WWII

After their victory in the Norwegian Campaign of World War II the Germans soon fortified Hammerfest and used it as a major base. The importance of Hammerfest to the Germans increased dramatically after their invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The occupiers installed three coastal batteries in and around Hammerfest, one with four 10,5 cm guns on Melkøya island near the town, one with three 10,5 cm guns on a hill right outside the town and a final battery with casemated 13 cm pieces on the Rypklubben peninsula near Rypefjord.

The main U-boat base in Finnmark was in Hammerfest, serving as a central supply base for the vessels attacking the allied supply convoys to Russia.^[20] Luftwaffe seaplanes were based at an improvised naval air station in nearby Rypefjord.^[21] The garrison in Hammerfest was also protected by around 4,000 mines and numerous anti-aircraft guns.

During their long retreat following the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation the Germans no longer managed to transport troops by sea further east due to massive Red Air Force raids. Thus Hammerfest became their main shipping port in Finnmark in the autumn of 1944.^[22]

Hammerfest was forcibly evacuated by the occupying German troops in the fall of 1944 and then looted and burned to the ground by them when they retreated, the last of the town having been destroyed by the time the Germans finally left on 10 February 1945. Only the town's small funeral chapel, built in 1937, was left standing by the retreating Germans.^[23] The Museum of Reconstruction in Hammerfest tells the story of these events and the recovery of the town. Hammerfest is also home to the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society (Isbjørnklubben), and a museum displaying the history of Arctic hunting.

Mines and munitions left over from World War II are still behind found and disposed of in the Hammerfest area.^[24]

[edit] Villages in Hammerfest

• Akkarfjord
• Forsøl
• Hønseby
• Kårhamn
• Rypefjord

[edit] Notable people from Hammerfest

• Paal Olav Berg
• Gunnar Garfors
• Knut Hoem
• Alf E. Jakobsen
• Turi Josefsen
• Kåre Kivijärvi
• Trond Kristoffersen
• Annemarie Lorentzen
• Ole Olsen
• Bjørn Sundquist

[edit] References

[edit] Literature

• Gamst, Thorbein: Finnmark under Hakekorset - Festung Finnmark, Agdin Forlag, Arendal 1984 (Norwegian)
• Hafsten, Bjørn; Larsstuvold, Ulf; Olsen, Bjørn and Stenersen, Sten: "Flyalarm - luftkrigen over Norge 1939-1945", Sem og Stenersen AS, Oslo 1991 ISBN 82-7046-058-3 (Norwegian)
• Knudsen, Svein Aage: Ubåtkrig - tyske ubåtmannskaper i norske farvann 1940-1945, DANOR Forlag AS, Arendal 2006 (Norwegian)

[edit] External links

• Information from Statoil about the Snøhvit LNG construction (English)
• Hammerfest official tourist information (English)
• Finnmark University College (English)
• Arctic booms as climate change melts polar ice cap (English)
• Power station using tidal current as energy in Kvalsund (English)
• New oil field discovered only 45 km off the coast (English)
• Goliat oil field larger than previously thought (English)
• Information about the planned natural gas power plant with CO2 reduction (Norwegian)

v • d • e Municipalities of Finnmark Alta · Berlevåg · Båtsfjord · Gamvik · Hammerfest · Hasvik · Karasjok · Kautokeino · Kvalsund · Lebesby · Loppa · Måsøy · Nesseby · Nordkapp · Porsanger · Sør-Varanger · Tana · Vadsø · Vardø