Tjøtta

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Location of Tjøtta on the Helgeland coast

Tjøtta is an island, village and former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is now part of Alstahaug municipality.

Tjøtta is located on Strandflaten lowland near the sea

The village Tjøtta is located on the southern tip of the island of the same name, which is located south of Alsten. Tjøtta is mentioned in Heimskringla many times; this was the home of Hårek, one of the leaders of the peasant army which killed Olav Haraldsson at the Battle of Stiklestad. There are archeological evidence of iron age agriculture in the area. The largest farm in North Norway is located in Tjøtta. The municipality was created in 1862 by a split from Alstahaug. At that time Tjøtta had a population of 2,781. On 1 July 1917 Vevelstad was split from Tjøtta to constitute a municipality of its own, leaving Tjøtta with 2,287 inhabitants. On 1 July 1920 the farm Giskåen with 10 inhabitants was moved to Vevelstad.

On 1 January 1964 the district on the eastern part of Alsten, with a population of 180, was incorporated into Leirfjord municipality. On 1 January 1965 the district Skogsholmen with 196 inhabitants was incorporated into Vega whereas the rest of Tjøtta, with 1,477 inhabitants, was reunited with Alstahaug.

The old Tjøtta farm, now a guesthouse

By North Norwegian standards, the climate is mild with a long summer suited for agriculture; monthly 24-hr averages range from -1.8°C in the coldest month to 13°C in both July and August; average yearly rainfall is 1,020 mm (Source:met.no 1961-90 [1]).

[edit] War cemetery

The WW2 international war cemetery at Tjøtta has more than 7,500 war graves, mostly Russians who was taken prisoners by Nazi Germany. The Rigel ship catastrophy, claiming some 2,500 lives off the island, also has a monument.