Tromsø
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| County | Troms | |
| District | ||
| Municipality | NO-1902 | |
| Administrative centre | Tromsø | |
| Mayor (2004) | Herman Kristoffersen (Ap) | |
| Official language form | Neutral | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage |
Ranked 18 2,566 km² 2,519 km² 0.79 % |
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| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density |
Ranked 8 63,596 1.35 % 13.3 % 25/km² |
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| Coordinates | ||
| www.tromso.kommune.no |
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Tromsø (Romsa in Northern Sami, nominative case) is a city and municipality in the county of Troms, Norway. The municipality of Tromsø covers large districts outside the town.
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[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1870. It shows a reindeer. Current version created by Hallvard Trætteberg (1898–1987) and approved in 1941 [1]
[edit] Geography
Tromsø is the eighth-largest city in Norway by population, and is home of the world's northernmost university, University of Tromsø, brewery, botanical garden[1] and planetarium[2].
The city center is located on the east side of the Tromsøya — almost 400 km inside the Arctic Circle at . Suburban areas include Tromsdalen (on the mainland, east of the Tromsøya island), the rest of the Tromsøya island, and the eastern part of the large Kvaløya, west of the Tromsøya Island. Tromsø Bridge and a four laned road tunnel connects the mainland with Tromsøya by road, and, on the western side of the city, Sandnessund Bridge connects Tromsøya island with Kvaløya island.
[edit] Climate
Tromsø is rather famous in Norway for having a lot of snow in the winter, although this varies a lot from one year to the next. In the winter of 1996–97 a new all-time record was set in April 29, 1997 when the meteorological station on top of Tromsøya could — with some difficulty — record 240 cm of snow. The coldest temperature ever recorded is –18.4°C, and the January average is a mere –4°C. This is due to the warming effects of the North Atlantic Drift, an extension of the Gulf Stream. The proximity to the sea moderates temperatures; Sommarøy on the west coast of Kvaløya has January average of –1.9°C.
Then again, summer is rather cool, with a July 24-hr average of 12°C; daytime temperatures are usually slightly warmer, but vary a lot (from 9 to 25°C). In the summer of 1972 the temperature made 30°C ([1]).
[edit] Light and darkness
The geographical location some 350 km north of the Arctic circle means that Tromsø has both midnight sun and polar night.
The Midnight sun is above the northern horizon from about May 18 to July 26, although the mountains in the north block the view to the Midnight sun a few days, meaning that you can optically see the sun from about May 21 to July 21. Due to the position on top of the globe, the twilight is longer, meaning there is no real darkness between late April and mid August.
The sun remains below the horizon from about November 26 to January 15, but due to the mountains the sun is absent from the center from November 21 to January 21. The return of the sun is an occasion for celebration. Due to the twilight, there is some daylight for a couple of hours even around midwinter, often with beautiful bluish light. The nights shorten quickly, and by February 21 the sun is above the horizon from 07:45 to 16:10, and April 1 from 05:50 to 19:50 (summertime).
The combination of snow cover and sunshine often creates intense light conditions from late February until the snow melts in the lowland (usually late April), and sunglasses are essential when skiing. Because of these diametrically different light conditions in winter, Norwegians often divide it into two seasons: Mørketid (the dark time) and Seinvinter (late winter).
Tromsø is in the middle of the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) zone, and is in fact one of the best places in the world to observe this phenomenon. Because of the planet's rotation, Tromsø moves into the aurora zone around 6pm, and moves out again around midnight. Due to the light, no aurora is visible between late April and mid August.
[edit] History
- Main article History of Tromsø
Settlement of the Tromsø area goes back to the end of the ice age. Einar Østmo reports this region as having Corded Ware culture remains. This is the late Neolithic into the early bronze age. During the iron age, the outer coast off Tromsø was settled by both Norse and Sami people, whereas the inland areas of Tromsø Municipality was all Sami.
In the summer of 2005, children playing in a suburban area on Tromsøya discovered a silver treasure which had lain buried since the Viking age (source).
The first church was built in 1252 in the reign of king Hákon Hákonarson, and was then the world's northernmost church, called Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae de Trums juxta paganos [2], or "Saint Mary's close to the pagans". Probably around the same time, a turf rampart was built to protect the area against raids from Karelia and Russia.
Tromsø was issued its city charter in 1794; by then only around 80 people lived there. During the 19th century the city rose in importance, with the establishment of a bishop's seat (1834), a teacher training college (1848), a shipyard (1848), the Tromsø Museum (1872) and the Mack Brewery (1877).
Arctic hunting, from Novaya Zemlya to Canada, started up around 1820. By 1850 Tromsø was the major center of Arctic hunting, overtaking the former center of Hammerfest, and the city was trading from Arkhangelsk to Bordeaux. By the end of the 19th century, Tromsø had become a major Arctic trade center from which many Arctic expeditions originated. Explorers like Roald Amundsen, Umberto Nobile and Fridtjof Nansen made use of the know-how in Tromsø on the conditions in the Arctic, and often recruited their crew in the city. The Northern lights observatory was founded in 1927.
During World War II it served briefly as the seat of Norwegian government. However, the city escaped the war without any damage, although the German battleship Tirpitz was sunk off the Tromsøy Island on November 12, 1944, when close to 1,000 German soldiers died. At the end of the war, the city received thousands of refugees from the Finnmark province, which was evacuated and devastated by German forces at the time in expectation of the Red Army offensive.
Expansion after World War II has been rapid. The airport opened in 1964, the University of Tromsø in 1972 and the Norwegian Polar Institute was relocated to Tromsø from Oslo in 1998. Tromsø Airport served 1,447,000 passengers in 2004.
The population growth has been strong, some years more than 1,000 people; in 1964 the present municipal borders were created through unification of several boroughs. Then the city had some 32,000 inhabitants, practically doubled today at 64,000. After some years of limited growth, the city grew by some 1,000 inhabitants again in 2005.
[edit] Politics
The highest political body is the City Council (Bystyret), which elects a governing body, the Formannskap and five political committees.
The biggest political party is the Labor Party. Although the Labor Party is led by Reinhold Fieler, Labor's Herman Kristoffersen is the mayor of Tromsø. The vice-mayor is Pia Svensgaard (Labor).
There is a discussion of whether to introduce city parliamentarism, as practiced in the biggest Norwegian cities. The Labor Party is advocating this political system, while the Socialist Left Party is opposing it.
[edit] Population
More than 100 nationalities are represented in the population, among the more prominent minorities are the Sami, Russians, and Finns. The world's northernmost mosque is to be found in Tromsø. The Our Lady Catholic church is the seat of the world's northernmost Catholic Bishop, although the Catholic population is only 350 heads strong — it is in this context interesting to note that Pope John Paul II actually visited this small church and stayed as a guest of the bishop in 1989.
The Sami minority is making itself felt, and there is a Sami kindergarten and Sami language classes in school. Sami was once spoken in communities throughout Tromsø, but is unfortunately a dying language in those communities. Hopefully, this is countered by the recent establishment of a Sami language center in Ullsfjord. Most Sami speakers in Tromsø have migrated here from other Sami-speaking areas of the North.
[edit] Sports
Tromsø is the home of many football (soccer) clubs, of which the three most prominent are Tromsø I.L., which plays in the Norwegian Premier League, I.F. Fløya in the Norwegian Premier League for women, and Tromsdalen U.I.L., playing in the Adeccoligaen. Tromsø Midnight Sun Marathon is arranged every year in June and recently also a Polar Night Half marathon in January.
The city is also home to many clubs in the top division in various Norwegian sports. Most notably basketball-outfit Tromsø Storm in the BLNO, BK Tromsø in the top volleyball league for men, and Tromsø Volley in the top volleyball league for women.
Winter sport enthusiasts appreciate the Ski station, situated 10 km outside the city center, in a suburb. From the southern to the northern tip of the Tromsø Island, there is a floodlit cross country ski track. A ski jump is also situated on the island, close to the university.
Tromsø had announced a bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. This is considered an interesting idea to many sports fans, seeing as Tromsø would be the first city north of the Arctic Circle to host the games and would be unique in many of its accommodations, among them the use of ships as the media village. However, the Norwegian government still has yet to officially support Tromsø's bid. Thus, Tromsø will not be a candidate in 2014, although it is considering a bid for 2018.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Art, theater, jazz, and classical music
Many cultural activities take place in Kulturhuset (The culture house), including concerts by Tromsø's symphony orchestra (Tromsø Symfoniorkester) and plays by Tromsø's professional theater troupe Hålogaland Teater. The new theater building was opened in November 2005. There is also the Northern Norwegian Art Gallery (Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum) as well as the Tromsø Gallery of Contemporary Art (Tromsø Kunstforening).
[edit] Winter events
January is the main season for cultural events, with both the Tromsø International Film Festival and the Northern Lights Festival of Music (Nordlysfestivalen). The end of January is marked by the Day of the Sun (Soldagen) when people celebrate that the sun finally appears above the horizon after the long Polar Night. This is mostly a childrens' event. On the 6th of February, the international Day of the Sami People is celebrated, mostly at the University of Tromsø and at the city hall.
[edit] Summer events
In June/July the main event is the Bukta ("Bay") festival, a popular music festival that started three years ago as a merger between the smaller non-profit festival "North of Nowhere" and the Fucking North Pole Punk Rock Festival. The Bukta festival is mainly a rock festival, but also features other kinds of modern music. It takes place in Telegrafbukta, a park on the Southwestern part of Tromsø Island. Like its predecessor, Bukta is a non-profit concept. Other popular cultural summer events among the population of Tromsø is the the Karlsøy festival and the Riddu Riddu festival, both held in the region surrounding the city.
[edit] House and techno
Tromsø was the leading city at the early stages of the house and techno scene in Norway from the last part of the 1980s. Local artists such as Bel Canto, Biosphere, Mental Overdrive, Ismistik/Bjørn Torske, Aedena Cycle, Y.B.U., Open Skies, Alanïa, Those Norwegians, Phonophani, Lene Marlin, Drum Island and lately Röyksopp have all made their marks internationally. The Insomnia Festival pays tribute to this and seeks to profile relevant electronic music.
[edit] 46664
On June 11 2005 the city hosted the 46664 Arctic concert designed to put work concerning HIV/AIDS on the international agenda. The concert was promoted by Nelson Mandela, whose prison number has provided the arrangement's name, and featured international and local artists.
[edit] Attractions in Tromsø
The city center is the biggest concentration of historic wooden houses north of Trondheim. A multitude of historical wooden houses dating from 1789 to 1904 (when building wooden houses was banned in the city center), co-exist with modern architecture. The oldest house in Tromsø is Skansen, built in 1789 on the remains of a 13th c. turf rampart. The little Polar Museum presents Tromsø's past as a center for Arctic hunting and starting point for polar expeditions, and is situated in a wharf house from 1837. The Tromsø Cathedral (Norway's only wooden cathedral, built in 1861) is right in the middle of town, and so is the little Catholic church of Vår Frue. Norway's oldest cinema is still in use; Verdensteatret, built 1915-16, lies in Tromsø and is featured with large wall paintings, picturing scenes from Norwegian folk lore and fairy tales, made by the local artist Sverre Mack in 1921.
Outside the compact city center, there is the Arctic Cathedral (a striking modern church from 1965), and the Polaria aquarium and experience center from 1998 is a short walk south from the city center. The Tromsø Museum is a University museum, presenting culture and nature of North Norway. The museum also displays the Arctic-alpine botanic garden, the world's northernmost botanical garden. A cable car goes up to Mount Storsteinen, 421 m.a.s.l. (meters above sea level), with a panoramic view over Tromsø. The mountain Tromsdalstinden, 1238 m, on the mainland, which is easily spotted from the city center, is also a major landmark.
[edit] Miscellaneous
Tromsø was known in the 19th century as the "Paris of the North", probably because people in Tromsø appeared as far more civilized than expected to foreign tourists. Fashions, language skills and a high educational level of the city's gentry came as a big surprise to prejudiced visitors. Another reason was that the many fishermen in the city usually got a lot of money at once when they sold their fish stocks, and so often found themselves buying high fashion from Europe for their wives.
The nightlife of Tromsø enjoys national fame. The combined capacity of clubs, pubs, and bars is of more than 20,000 people, meaning that one out of three can go out at the same time. However, the sin city image was more apparent in the 1970s and even more in the 1980s, when Tromsø boasted an unprecedented number of all-night all-week clubs. New legislation put a stop to that in the early nineties. Ølhallen, dating from 1928, and open 9am to 5pm, is the vintage pub in Tromsø, located in the basement of the brewery. Rorbua achieved national fame when hosting a popular TV show in Norway.
The local newspapers are named Bladet Tromsø and Nordlys and the local brewery is the Mack Brewery which is the northernmost brewery in the world.
The movie Insomnia was shot in Tromsø and in Nyksund.
Tromsø IL is the world's most northern Premier league football team.
[edit] People
Noted personalities from the city include:
- Arthur Arntzen, writer and entertainer. Particularly known for his character "Oluf", a parody on stereotypes of North Norwegians.
- Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland the musicians in the band Röyksopp that is in the electronic music genre
- Anneli Drecker and the band Bel Canto, also in the electronic music genre.
- Jorgen Dreyer, sculptor.
- Einar Hoidale, lawyer and democrat, US Congressman
- Geir Jenssen, electronica musician.
- Halvdan Koht, Norwegian head of the Ministry of Defense prior to the German invasion of WWII.
- Hermann Kristoffersen, "Red Hermann", the long-serving mayor of Tromsø.
- Lene Marlin, musician and songwriter.
- Cora Sandel, writer (pseudonym for Sara Fabricius).
- Erik Skjoldbjærg, director.
- Peter Wessel Zapffe, author and existentialist philosopher. He argued that humanity had evolved into a creature too complex to be happy, and thus should cease reproducing itself.
- Henry Rudi, legendary trapper and polar bear hunter.
[edit] Twin towns
Tromsø has ten twin towns[3]:
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- Arkhangelsk (Russia)
[edit] External links
- Tromsø International Film Festival
- Tromsø 2018 - Olympic bid official site (English version)
- 46664 Arctic - The official site of the Tromsø 46664 Nelson Mandela concert
- Destinasjon Tromsø - Destinasjon Tromsø Tourist information Office
- Tromsø Airport: Facts and pictures from Avinor
- VirtualTourist.com with some good Tromsø pictures
- Link with many pictures from Tromsø
- Climate statistics Tromsø municipality
- Fjellheisen
- Auroral Observatory (Nordlysobservatoriet)
- Picture from Tromsø - Summer 2006
[edit] References
- ^ Coats-of-arms - National Archival services of Norway
- ^ Diplomatarium Norvegicum b.1 nr.112 The Papal letter (in Latin) first referring to Troms
- ^ List of twin towns from Tromsø municipality (Norwegian)
| Municipalities of Troms |  |
|---|---|
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Balsfjord | Bardu | Berg | Bjarkøy | Dyrøy | Gratangen | Harstad | Ibestad | Karlsøy | Kvæfjord | Kvænangen | Kåfjord | Lavangen | Lenvik | Lyngen | Målselv | Nordreisa | Salangen | Skjervøy | Skånland | Storfjord | Sørreisa | Torsken | Tranøy | Tromsø |
|
Oslo (538,500) · Bergen (242,000) · Trondheim (158,613) · Stavanger (115,157) · Bærum (105,928) · Kristiansand (76,917) · Fredrikstad (70,791) · Tromsø (63,596) · Sandnes (58,947) · Drammen (57,759) · Asker (51,484) · Skien (50,761) · Sarpsborg (50,115) · Bodø (44,992) · Skedsmo (43,201) · Sandefjord (41,555) · Larvik (41,211) · Ålesund (40,801) · Arendal (39,826) · Karmøy (37,928) · Tønsberg (36,919) · Porsgrunn (33,550) · Ringsaker (31,923) · Haugesund (31,738) · Lørenskog (30,929)
