Narvik

Narvik (Northern Sami: Narviika) is a town in the county of Nordland, Norway, in the Ofoten landscape in North Norway, inside the arctic circle. Narvik borders Evenes to the northwest, Bardu and Gratangen in Troms county to the north, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the south and east and Ballangen to the southwest.

1 Geography
2 Seasons in Narvik
3 Economy and Communications
4 Recreation and tourism
5 Narvik in World War II
6 Twin Cities
7 Trivia
8 Further reading
9 External links

[edit] Geography

The municipality of Narvik covers large areas outside the town itself. Some of the other settlements in the municipality are Bjerkvik (located at the head of Herjangsfjorden), Håkvik, Beisfjord and Skjomen.

Narvik 1928 with Rombaksfjorden as backdrop

The eastern part, towards the border with Sweden, is dominated by mountains, and Storsteinfjellet reaches 1894 m. However, there are also lakes and valleys, mostly above the treeline in this eastern part. The city itself is situated near the innermost part of the deep Ofotfjord, but even here the mountains, going almost straight up from the blue fjord, reach 1500 m, even 1700 m in Skjomen, where the glacier Frostisen can be seen. Forests cover the lower parts of the mountains (below 500 m), but near the summits, the snow can stay most of the summer. Narvik has well prepared slopes for alpine skiing, some of which end almost in the city center.

Situated 220 km inside the arctic circle, Narvik is one of the most northernly towns in the world. However, the North Atlantic drift (extension of the Gulfstream) gives Narvik a much milder climate than one might expect for a town at this latitude. In addition, the mountains surrounding the town give shelter from the strong winds typical for coastal areas. Mean annual temperature is 3.7°C (38°F), January average is -4.4°C (26°F), July 24-hr average is 13.4°C (56°F), and the growing season in the lowland is approximately 155 days, thus allowing inhabitants with an interest for gardening to grow imported plants and trees, such as european ash and sycamore maple.

[edit] Seasons in Narvik

Narvik in winter. Photo: Tom Corser

Average temperature is below freezing from mid-November until the first days of April. Thaws can occur any time in winter, but rarely in the higher elevations. Average 24-hr temperature is above 5°C (41°F) from early May - approximately October 10. Summer lasts from beginning of June - September 1, with daytime temperatures ranging from 10°C (50°F) to 26°C (78°F), usually 12 - 20°C; (54°F - 68°F). Record high and low is 31°C (87°F) and -20°C (-5°F). The wettest month is October, with 110 mm precipitation, the driest month is May with 40 mm, and the year average precipitation is 830 mm ([1], [2]).

The light varies a lot in Narvik: The sun is below the horizon from late November until mid-January; when there is only a bluish light for a few hours around noon ([3]). The mountains surrounding the town in reality extend this period from early November until the end of January. The light is often intense in March and April, with long daylight hours and snow cover - the snow melts in lowland areas in April, but stays in the mountains for several months. The (midnight) sun is above the horizon from May 25 to July 18, and the period with continuous daylight lasts a bit longer, from approximately May 10 to the end of July. There is also a transitional period with twilight in the night, so you will not be able to see any stars at night from the last days of April until approximately August 10.

[edit] Economy and Communications

The railway in Narvik

The activity related to the railway and large port facilities are still important in Narvik, and goods to and from northern Norway are often distributed via Narvik, which is situated near the centre of this region. In the project the Northern East West Freight Corridor there are plans for using Narvik as a port for goods from East Asia bound for eastern North America. The reason is that the railroad network of central Europe is a lot busier and the distance is shorter. The first trial shipments will leave in 2006. Narvik is a commercial centre for some of the neighbouring municipalities. Narvik University College has approximately 1200 students. There are some high-tech businesses in Narvik (among them Natech).

Narvik was founded in 1887 as an all-year ice free port for the Kiruna/Gällivare iron mines, and given the name Victoriahavn (Victoria harbor) until 1898, when the name was changed to Narvik. Ofotbanen is the railroad connecting Narvik to Kiruna in Sweden, passing through the mountains dividing the two countries. There are no railways south to Bodø, which is at the northern end of the rest of Norway's railroad network. The E6 crosses through the municipality using three bridges: Skjomen Bridge, Beisfjord Bridge and Rombak Bridge. Narvik is served by two airports: Narvik Airport, Framnes just outside the city center has a short runway and is used by smaller aircraft. Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes is 80 km by road from Narvik.

[edit] Recreation and tourism

Skjomen fjord

Narvik is all about great outdoor adventures. This is the best known location in northern Norway when it comes to alpine skiing. There are lifts, and several of the slopes are floodlit. There is also a cable car to Fagernesfjellet, with a stunning view and the possibility to walk even higher up in the mountains. Mountain hiking is, understandably, very popular in this area, and the mountain area near the Swedish border has several accommodation possibilities. Wreck diving attracts divers to Narvik, as there are a lot of wrecks in or near the harbor, and more spread out in the fjord. Fishing in the fjord or in lakes and streams is a popular leisure activity. There are salmon rivers in Skjomen, Beisfjord and Bjerkvik. The 18 hole Golf Course in Skjomen is situated in a very scenic landscape, and is one of the most northern in the world. Narvik was destroyed by the fighting in 1940 and hastily rebuilt, hence the architecture is rather functional, but private homes are often painted in bright colours.

[edit] Narvik in World War II

Iron ore is extracted in Kiruna and Malmberget, and brought by rail to the harbours of Luleå and Narvik.
(Borders as of 1920–1940.)

The port of Narvik proved to be strategically valuable in the early years of World War II and the town became a focal point of the Norwegian Campaign. In 1939 Germany's war industry depended upon iron ore extracted in Kiruna and Malmberget in Sweden. During the summer this ore could be shipped to Germany from the Swedish port of Luleå on the Gulf of Bothnia. However, when the Gulf of Bothnia froze during the winter, most of the ore had to be brought from Narvik. The town of Narvik is linked by rail to Sweden, but not to other towns in Norway. As a result, Narvik serves as a gateway to the ore fields of Sweden which cannot be easily reached from southern Norway over land. Then First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill realized that control of Narvik meant stopping most German imports of iron-ore during the winter of 1940, which would be highly advantageous to the Allies and might help shorten the war. Churchill proposed laying a minefield in Norwegian territorial waters around Narvik or possibly occupying the town with Allied troops. The Allies hoped that they might be able to use an occupied Narvik as a base from which to secure the Swedish ore fields and/or to send supplies and reinforcements to Finland, then fighting The Winter War with the Soviet Union. Plans to lay a minefield around Narvik or to seize the town met with debate within the British government since both plans would mean a violation of Norway's neutrality and sovereignty.

Finally, on April 8, 1940, the British Admiralty launched Operation Wilfred, an attempt to lay minefields around Narvik in Norwegian territorial waters. Coincidentally, Germany launched its invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung) the next day. During this invasion, ten German destroyers, each carrying 200 mountain infantry soldiers, were sent to Narvik. The outdated Norwegian coastal battleships HNoMS Eidsvold and HNoMS Norge attempted to resist the invasion, but both ships were sunk after a short and uneven battle. The British Navy quickly dispatched ships, including the battlership HMS Warspite, to Narvik and during the Battles of Narvik took control of the coast, destroying the German destroyers that had brought the invasion force to Narvik as well as other German ships in the area.

The first convoys of Allied soldiers were sent under Major-General Mackesy to occupy Narvik on April 12. The Admiralty urged Mackesy to conduct an assault on Narvik from the sea as soon as possible. However, Mackesy felt that the German harbor defenses were too strong for such an invasion to take place. The Admiralty argued that a naval bombardment of Norway would enable the troops to land safely, but General Mackesy refused to subject Norwegian citizens to such a bombardment and instead chose to land his troops near Narvik and wait until the snow melted to take the city.

Coordinated by General Carl Gustav Fleischer, Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recaptured Narvik on May 28, 1940. This is also considered the first allied infantry victory in WW2. However, by this time the Allies were losing the Battle of France and the evacuation from Dunkirk was underway. Since the invasion of France had made Scandinavia largely irrelevant, and since the valuable troops assigned to Narvik were badly needed elsewhere, the Allies withdrew from Narvik on June 8 in Operation Alphabet. Without support from the Allied task force, the Norwegians were outnumbered and had to lay down their weapons in Norway. This was not a complete capitulation; the Norwegians kept on fighting from abroad.

Narvik during World War II

[edit] Twin Cities

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Kikinda, Serbia

[edit] Trivia

Narvik's city hall (Rådhus) is shown briefly in a second-season episode of the American television series Lost.
Alvar Hanso, a major player in the lost experience and Lost is based in Narvik.