Kabelvåg

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View from Kabelvåg
Kabelvåg
Village
View of the village
Kabelvåg
Location in Nordland
Coordinates: 68°12′38″N 14°28′31″E / 68.21056°N 14.47528°E / 68.21056; 14.47528Coordinates: 68°12′38″N 14°28′31″E / 68.21056°N 14.47528°E / 68.21056; 14.47528
Country Norway
Region Northern Norway
County Nordland
District Lofoten
Municipality Vågan
Area[1]
 • Total 1.22 km2 (0.47 sq mi)
Elevation[2] 4 m (13 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 1,690
 • Density 1,385/km2 (3,590/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+01:00)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+02:00)
Post Code 8310 Kabelvåg

Kabelvåg is a village in the municipality of Vågan in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. Kabelvåg lies about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the southwest of the town of Svolvær, the administrative centre of Vågan municipality. The 1.22-square-kilometre (300-acre) village has a population (2011) of 1,690. The population density is 1,385 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,590 /sq mi).[1]

Lofoten Museum in Kabelvåg
The centre of Kabelvåg
The entrance to the Lofoten aquarium

The village was founded as "Vågan" in the early 12th century by King Øystein Magnusson, who built a church and a fishermen's hostel there. According to the Heimskringla, there was something resembling a town there several centuries earlier — the first known town in North Norway, known as "Vågar".

There are several attractions in Kabelvåg: the Lofoten Museum, Lofoten Aquarium, and Espolin Gallery. Vågan Church (also known as the Lofoten Cathedral) is located in Kabelvåg. The European route E10 highway runs through the village.

History

The oldest traces of settlement in Kabelvåg are from the later stone age. Though there are traces of human activity as far back as the earlier stone age. While modern day Vågan municipality was generally evenly populated in the stone age there are only sparse traces of settlements in the area now known as Kabelvåg during the Iron age.

A couple[3] of kilometers west of the present-day center of Kabelvåg, Vágar existed as a city between 1000 and 1400. It was North Norway's first city. During the Middle ages the settlement known as Vågan experienced a rise in importance. This happens mostly because of the "Lofotfiske" which mostly takes part in an area of the sea known as Hølla which is between modern day Kabelvåg, Svolvær, and Skrova.

Lofotfiske

As long as anyone has known Northern Atlantic Cod has come to Lofoten to spawn. When it comes it this creates an extreme increase in fish density, making the fishing during this period very successful. A result of the "Lofotfiske" is that there became large amounts of fish available in need of storage. This led to the drying and salting of fish. Due to the special weather of the Lofoten islands, it is an ideal place to make the product known as tørrfisk (English: dried fish).

During the Middle Ages, this dried fish became a very important commodity in the Catholic countries of Southern Europe, and the backbone of the local economy. According to historians, dried cod from Nordland in the 13th century accounted for 80% of all of Norway's exports.

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2011). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality.". 
  2. ↑ "Kabelvåg" (in Norwegian). yr.no. Retrieved 2012-07-20. 
  3. ↑ Her lå Norges viktigste by

External links

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