Vadsø

Vadsø (Čáhcesuolu in Northern Sami, Vesisaari in Finnish) is a city and municipality in the county of Finnmark, Norway. The municipality of Vadsø includes the former municipality of Nord-Varanger. It forms the southern coast of the Varanger Peninsula, which is largely covered by birch forests on this more sheltered side (as opposed to the northern side).

In the 1500s the settlement consisted of a fishing village and a church, located on the island of Vadsøya. The settlement later moved to the mainland. Township privilege was granted in 1833, and soon settlers came from Finland, which suffered from famine. Finnish was rapidly becoming the language of the majority, and this continued through decades. Even today Finnish is still spoken in some households. During World War II, Vadsø suffered several air raids from the Soviet Union. However there is, unlike most places in Finnmark, a number of nineteenth century wooden houses preserved close to the city centre, notably the house of Esbensen, built by a Norwegian, and the house of Tuomainen, built by a Finn. On the island of Vadsøya is the airship mast used by Umberto Nobile and Roald Amundsen for their expedition over the North Pole with the airship Norge in 1926, and used again on Nobile's flight with the airship Italia in 1928.

Vadsø is the administrative centre of the county of Finnmark. It has an airport and is also a port of call for the Hurtigruten.

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1976). It shows the head of a reindeer.

[edit] External links

Varanger.com - tourist information about Varanger area (english)

Municipalities of Finnmark
Alta \| Berlevåg \| Båtsfjord \| Gamvik \| Hammerfest \| Hasvik \| Karasjok \| Kautokeino \| Kvalsund \| Lebesby \| Loppa \| Måsøy \| Nesseby \| Nordkapp \| Porsanger \| Sør-Varanger \| Tana \| Vadsø \| Vardø