Nordkapp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nordkapp kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: 71°1′8″N 25°47′50″E / 71.01889°N 25.79722°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
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| County | Finnmark | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-2019 | ||
| Administrative centre | Honningsvåg | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2005) | Ulf Syversen (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 119 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 925 km2 (357.1 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 891 km2 (344 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 3,468 | ||
| - Density | 4/km2 (10.4/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | -12.6 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 247 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Demonym | Nordkappværing [1] | ||
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| Website | www.nordkapp.kommune.no | ||
Nordkapp (Northern Sami: Davvinjárgga gielda and Kven: Kappan komuuni) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Honningsvåg.
Nordkapp (originally named Kjelvik) was separated from Porsanger on 1 July 1861. The western part of the island of Magerøya was transferred from the municipality of Måsøy to Nordkapp on 1 January 1984.
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[edit] General information
[edit] Name
Nordkapp is a Norwegianized form of the English name North Cape from 1553 (the Old Norse name of the cape was Knyskanes). The original name of the municipality was Kjelvik, after a fishing village with the same name. But the village was totally destroyed by the Germans in 1944 and it never recovered. As a consequence of this the municipality changed the name to Nordkapp in 1950.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 19 October 1973. The arms show simplified the North Cape, Europe's northernmost point, which is a large cliff. The arms thus show the sea and the cliff under a golden sky representing the midnight sun.[2]
[edit] Location and history
The municipality encompasses mainly the island of Magerøya, but also parts of the mainland east and west of the fjord of Porsanger.
Most of the inhabitants live in the town of Honningsvåg, but Nordvågen, Kamøyvær, Skarsvåg and Gjesvær are also important places.
The municipality's most famous point, after which it is named, is Nordkapp (North Cape). This 307 metres (1,007 ft) high cliff is usually referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. Some 200,000 tourists visit annually, during the two to three months of summer. However, the neighbouring point of Knivskjellodden is some 1,500 metres (0.93 mi) further north, therefore this is considered the real northernmost point of Europe. It is accessible only by foot.
The North Cape first became famous when the English explorer Richard Chancellor rounded it in 1553 while attempting to find a sea route through the Northeast Passage.
[edit] Birdlife
This coastal municipality is like many others in Finnmark, home of large seabird colonies. The island group known as Gjesværstappan is one of the better known with at least 2,500 pairs of Razorbill. Away from the coast it is the typical tundra habitat of the region that dominates with lakes, marshes, and areas of Willow Scrub. Many of the lakes hold breeding wildfowl, with species like Long-tailed Duck being found.
[edit] References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn.
- ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/n/nordkapp.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-11.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nordkapp |
[edit] External links
- http://www.minitothearctic.com Over 5000 mile drive from England to Nordkapp and back in aid of Leukaemia Research, September 2008
- http://www.northcape.tv Pictures from North Cape and Skarsvåg
- http://www.northwayup.co.uk/ Motorcycle ride from England to Nordkapp in aid of Cancer Research. 5000 miles in 10 days! June 2008
- http://www.nk05.eu/home_eng.html Motorbike travel from Italy to Nordkapp
- http://www.noborderbiking.com From Nordkapp to Italy by Bike
- http://forum.interrail.net/viewtopic.php?t=512 Nordkapp by Rail
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