Honningsvåg
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Honningsvåg (help·info) at 70° 58' N, in Nordkapp municipality, claims to be the northernmost city in Norway and even in the world, although the title is disputed by Hammerfest, Norway; Barrow, Alaska; and Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Legislation effective from 1997 states that a Norwegian city must have 5,000 inhabitants, but Honningsvåg with its population of 2367 (in 2009) was declared a city in 1996, thus exempt from this legislation. It is situated at a bay on the southern side of Magerøya island, while the famous North Cape and its visitors center is on the northern side. It is a port of call for cruise ships, especially in the summer months. Honningsvåg Airport, Valan is located 4 km outside the town, with flights to mainly Tromsø.
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[edit] History and environment
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People have lived in this area as far back as 10,300 years ago. The sea was probably the main food supplier for this prehistoric settlement. Indeed, the ice-free ocean (southwestern part of the Barents Sea) provides rich fisheries even today, and tourism is also important. Even at 71°N, many private gardens in Honningsvåg have trees, although rarely more than 3 – 4 m tall.
[1]Hurtigruten has one of its main stops in Honningsvåg on its lengthy route along the Norwegian coast from Kirkenes in the north to Bergen the south. From 11:45 am to 03:15 pm the ships dock in the port of Honningsvåg, generating heavy tourist activity in the city. The famous dog Bamse came from Honningsvåg.
[edit] The city status
The status of Honningsvåg as a city is a point of contention between the inhabitants of Honningsvåg and Hammerfest which many foreigners may find strange, given the small size of both of these places. In Norwegian the word 'by' can mean both town and city and Norwegian does not distinguish between the terms in the same way as English or other languages do. The translation of the word into English is thus ambiguous and can be chosen as one sees fit. If both Hammerfest and Honningsvåg were to be defined according to British tradition, neither of them would be considered cities, as neither has a university or a cathedral. Both of them would, however, be considered towns, given the status of both settlements as economic hubs of the surrounding areas and the status as municipal centers.
[edit] The name
The Norse form of the name was probably *Hornungsvágr. The first element is then the genitive case of a disappeared name of a mountain: *Hornungr. This (hypothetical) name could have been an older name of the mountain Storefjell (literally just 'big mountain' - a tall and hornlike mountaintop near Honningsvåg), and it is then derived from the word horn n 'horn'. The last element is vágr m 'bay'. The full meaning of the name is then 'the bay lying beneath the mountain *Hornungr.
[edit] Climate
Even though Honningsvåg is located at the northernmost extreme of Europe, it has a subarctic climate, thanks to the Gulf Stream.[2]Also, there is no permafrost as the mean annual temperature is 2°C. The July 24-hr average is just over 10°C (50°F).[3] Weather in winter is softened by the ice-free ocean, and the average temperature is not as low as that of other locations around this latitude. In fact, winters of Honningsvåg are warmer than that of Oslo. Summers are cool and short. Mean annual precipitation is 765 mm. The wettest months are from October to January with 85 mm's precipitation on average each month, while the driest months are from May - July with 40 mm's precipitation on average each month.[4]
| Climate data for Honningsvåg (10 last years) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −1 (30) |
−2 (28) |
−1 (30) |
2 (36) |
6 (43) |
8 (46) |
13 (55) |
11 (52) |
9 (48) |
5 (41) |
2 (36) |
0 (32) |
4.3 (39.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −4 (25) |
−4 (25) |
−3 (27) |
0 (32) |
3 (37) |
6 (43) |
10 (50) |
9 (48) |
7 (45) |
3 (37) |
0 (32) |
−3 (27) |
2.0 (35.6) |
| Source: [5] | |||||||||||||
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Honningsvåg |
- - history and culture of the North Cape area
- Information from Nordkapp municipality
- Visitnorway.com - about Honningsvåg
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ met.no climate statistics Nordkapp municipality
- ^ "Honningsvåg average conditions - base period 10 last years". Storm Weather Center. http://www.storm.no/vaer/Honningsvåg/klima. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
