Portal:Norway/Selected article/16
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harstad is a city and municipality in Norway. The town of Harstad was separated from Trondenes January 1, 1904. The municipalities of Sandtorg and Trondenes were merged with Harstad January 1, 1964. Harstad is located approximately 250 km (150 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. It is the second largest city in the county of Troms, and the third largest in North Norway, by population. This makes Harstad the natural centre for its district. The city celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004. The municipality is located on two islands in south Troms. Most of the municipality is located on Hinnøya, which is Norway's second largest island, after Svalbard. The northern part of the municipality is located on the southern third of Grytøya. Harstad is bordered by Bjarkøy to the north, Kvæfjord to the west and Tjeldsund (in the county of Nordland) to the south. To the southeast the Tjeldsund Bridge connects Hinnøya with Skånland and the mainland across Tjeldsundet, and to the northeast is the fjord Vågsfjorden, where Harstad shares a water border with Ibestad. The city itself is located northeast on Hinnøya; it is the only city on the island, and is popularly known as Vågsfjordens perle (The pearl of Vågsfjorden).
