Coordinates: 70°39′N, 23°41′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Hammerfest (help· info) is a city and municipality in the county of Finnmark, Norway. The municipality encompasses parts of three islands; Kvaløya, Sørøya and Seiland.
Image File history File links Hammerfest. ... County NO-20 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Vadsø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 1 48,618 km² 15. ... Sørøya is a large island in Western Finnmark. ...

Hammerfest was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of low population, and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for Hammerfest in 1838. (See also Vadsø and Vardø.) Formannsskapsdistrikt was a Norwegian local self-government district created in a bill approved by the Storthing and signed into law by king Carl Johan on January 14, 1837. ... County Finnmark Landscape Municipality NO-2003 Administrative centre Vadsø Mayor (2003) Hauk Johnsen (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 77 1,258 km² 1,234 km² 0. ... County Finnmark Landscape Municipality NO-2002 Administrative centre Vardø Mayor (2003) Rolf Einar Mortensen (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 183 600 km² 586 km² 0. ...

The rural district of Hammerfest (Sørøysund) was separated from the city January 1, 1852 - but it was again merged with the city January 1, 1992. (But without the area of Kvalsund, which was separated from Sørøysund as a municipality of its own 1869.) Sørøysund is a former municipality in Finnmark, Norway. ... County Finnmark District Municipality NO-2017 Administrative centre Kvalsund Mayor (2003) Ragnar Olsen (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 37 1,844 km² 1,739 km² 0. ...

The name

The town is named after an old anchorage. The first element is hammer, referring to a number of large rocks, good for mooring boats, called Hamran. (These were covered up in land reclaiming during the early post-war years). The last element is fest for 'fastening' (for boats). Note: an anchorage is a place where a ship lays anchor. ...

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from 1938. It shows a polar bear. Binomial name Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774 Polar bear range Synonyms Thalarctos maritimus The polar bear (Ursus maritimus), also known as the white bear, northern bear, sea bear, ice bear or nanuq in some Inuit languages, is a species of bear that is native to the Arctic and the apex predator...

Geography

Hammerfest June 2005

Located at 70.664° N 23.69° E, Hammerfest claims to be the northernmost city in the world, although the title is disputed by Honningsvåg, Norway, Barrow, Alaska and Longyearbyen, Svalbard. The validity of the claim depends upon one's definition of a city; Hammerfest is the world's northernmost settlement of more than 6,000 inhabitants. It is also the oldest town in North Norway. In spite of the extreme northern location, there is no permafrost, as the mean annual temperature is approximately 2°C [1], about the same as Anchorage which is located at a latitude of 61° North. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4048x3040, 2208 KB) Hammerfest in Nordnorwegen Selber fotografiert am 12. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4048x3040, 2208 KB) Hammerfest in Nordnorwegen Selber fotografiert am 12. ... Some of the northernmost settlements in the world are: Alert, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada 82°28 N — Pop. ... Honningsvag is one of the upper most Citys in Norway that is a favorite Port of Call for the small Cruise Ships. ... Barrow is a city in North Slope Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, Norway and its capital. ... Nord-Norge (Norwegian for Northern Norway) is the name of the geographical region of northern Norway, consisting of the three counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. ... In geology, permafrost or permafrost soil is a thermal condition where ground material stays at or below 0°C for two or more years. ... Nickname: Motto: BIG WILD LIFE Location in the state of Alaska Coordinates: Borough Municipality of Anchorage Government  - Mayor Mark Begich (D) Area  - City 5,079. ...

Hammerfest is situated on Kvaløya (island), with road connection to the mainland using the Kvalsund Bridge. Kvalsund Bridge (Kvalsundbrua) is a suspension bridge that crosses Kvalsundet from the mainland to Kvaløya in Finnmark county in Norway. ...

Economy and tourism

The construction of the large LNG site on Melkøya (island) just off Hammerfest, which will process natural gas from Snøhvit, is the most costly construction project ever in North Norway. This project has resulted in an economic boom and new optimism in Hammerfest in recent years, a stark contrast to the economic downhill most other municipalities in Finnmark are experiencing. Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been cooled until it becomes liquid, and it is stored in tanks. ... Snøhvit is the name of a natural gas field in the Barents Sea, 140 km northwest of Hammerfest, Norway, with estimated recoverable reserves of 140 billion m³ of natural gas. ...

Hammerfest offers sport and commercial fishing, both sea and freshwater, as well as scuba diving. The northernmost glacier on the Norwegian mainland is a popular hiking destination. The town is a popular starting point for northern tours. There is a daily boat to the spectacular North Cape (Nordkapp), northernmost point on the continent of Europe. One chain of the Struve Geodetic Arc, now on the World Heritage List, is located at Fuglenes in Hammerfest. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x312, 137 KB) Hammerfest, Norway. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x312, 137 KB) Hammerfest, Norway. ... Fishing industry is the commercial activity of fishing and producing fish and other seafood products. ... Sea as seen from jetty in Frankston, Australia Look up maritime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... Scuba diving is swimming underwater while using self-contained breathing equipment. ... A glacier is a large, persistent body of ice, formed largely of compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity. ... Two hikers in the Mount Hood National Forest Eagle Creek hiking Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. ... Midnight sun at the North Cape North Cape (foreground), Knivskjellodden (background) North Cape is a cape on the island of Magerøya in northern Norway, in the community of Nordkapp. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...

Hammerfest is also a center of Sami culture. Map of the Sami people. ...

Hammerfest is connected to the main road network by route 94 which branches off from European route E6. The town is a port of call for the Hurtigruten ship route. Hammerfest also has Finnmark's third largest airport, Hammerfest Airport. E6 is the designation for the main north-south road in Norway (and the west coast of Sweden), running from the southern tip of Sweden (Trelleborg), into Norway and through almost all of the country north to Finnmark. ... MS Midnatsol Hurtigruten is the name of a Norwegian coastal transport service which is over a hundred years old. ... Hammerfest Airport (IATA: HFT, ICAO: ENHF) (Norwegian: Hammerfest lufthavn) is a small airport serving the town of Hammerfest in Finnmark, Norway. ...

Sister cities

This article is about partnerships between towns distant from each other; see Twin cities for the different concept of physically neighbouring cities. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Nickname: Motto: BIG WILD LIFE Location in the state of Alaska Coordinates: Borough Municipality of Anchorage Government  - Mayor Mark Begich (D) Area  - City 5,079. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Ikast is a municipality in west Denmark, in the county of Ringkøbing on the peninsula of Jutland. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Petersburg is a city in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska, in the United States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland_(bordered). ... Location on Finnish map Tornio (Swedish: TorneÃ¥) is a municipality in Lapland, Finland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Trelleborg Municipality is a municipality and city in SkÃ¥ne in southernmost Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Argentina. ... Ushuaia (pronounced ) is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, and the worlds southernmost city. ...

History

Painting by Konstantin Korovin, inspired by the Aurora Borealis in Hammerfest

Many gravesites dating back to the Stone Age can be found here. This location was an important fishing and Arctic hunting settlement for a long time before it was given city status by royal decree in 1789. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (485x852, 22 KB) . 1894-95. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (485x852, 22 KB) . 1894-95. ... Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin (Russian: Константин Алексеевич Коровин) (November 23 (N.S. December 5), 1861, Moscow - September 11, 1939, Paris) was a Russian painter. ... Aurora borealis Polar aurorae are optical phenomena characterized by colorful displays of light in the night sky. ... Stone Age fishing hook. ... An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in the United Kingdom and certain Commonwealth countries which is formally made in the name of the Queen (or the Governor-General acting on her behalf) by the Privy Council or the Executive Council the Queen-in-Council or the Governor... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Napoleonic Wars

During the Napoleonic Wars Denmark-Norway was attacked by the UK and forced into the conflict on the side of Napoleon and France. As one of the main centers of commerce and communications in western Finnmark Hammerfest became a natural target of the Royal Navy's blockading warships. Thus, on the request of local merchants, the town received four six-pound cannon from the central armoury in Trondheim. Subsequently, a 50-men strong coastal defence militia was formed to defend Hammerfest. A number of merchants formed the officer corps of the militia, while Sea Samis and Kvens were mobilized as gun crews and soldiers. Combatants Allies: Austrian Empire[1] Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of Prussia[1] Russian Empire[2] Kingdom of Spain[3] Kingdom of Sweden United Kingdom[4] Ottoman Empire[5] French Empire Kingdom of Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Kingdom of Bavaria[6] Kingdom of Saxony[7... The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, consisting of Denmark and Norway, including Norways possessions Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, is a term used for the two united kingdoms after their amalgamation as one state in 1536. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... County NO-20 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Vadsø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 1 48,618 km² 15. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga class cruiser. ... Merchants function as professionals who deal with trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to produce profit. ... A small cannon on a carriage, Bucharest. ... An armory is a military depot used for the storage of weapons and ammunition. ... County Sør-Trøndelag District Municipality NO-1601 Administrative centre Trondheim Mayor (2005) Rita Ottervik (AP) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0. ... Kvens (kveeni in Kven language / Finnish; kvener in Norwegian) are a Norwegian ethnic minority descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Northern Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries. ...

British attack

On 22 July 1809 the expected British attack came when the brigs Snake and Fancy approached the town. Before reaching Hammerfest the British vessels had looted the village of Hasvik, laying waste to the small fishing community. The following battle between Hammerfest's two two-cannon batteries and the British warships with a total of 32 cannon was surprisingly intense and did not end before the Norwegian cannons had run out of gun powder after about 90 minutes of combat. Both attacking warships had suffered a number of cannonball hits and had at least one fatal casualty, a sailor who was buried at the local cemetery. During the battle the local populace had been able to make good their escape with most of the town's goods, but the raiding warships still stayed in the good port of Hammerfest for eight days. During their stay the Royal Navy sailors looted all they could get their hands on, including the church donation box and some of the church's silver. July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... Year 1809 (MDCCCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Brigantine. ... County Finnmark District Municipality NO-2015 Administrative centre Hasvik Mayor (2003) Geir Adelsten Iversen (Sp) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 192 556 km² 535 km² 0. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Cannonball can refer to: The ammunition for a cannon. ... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ...

Improved fortifications

After the raid Hammerfest became a garrison town with some regular troops and much improved and expanded fortifications. A small flotilla of cannon-armed rowing boats also operated out of Hammerfest for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars. For people named Garrison, see Garrison (disambiguation) Garrison House, built by William Damm in 1675 at Dover, New Hampshire Garrison (from the French garnison, itself from the verb garnir, to equip) is the collective term for the body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but... A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a flota of small ships, and this from French flotte), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. ...

Fire of 1890

It was struck by a fire in 1890 which started in the bakery and wiped out almost half the town's houses. After the fire Hammerfest received donations and humanitarian assistance from across the world; the biggest single donor being Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. The Kaiser had personally visited the town several times on his yacht and had great affection for the small northern settlement. 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... Bakery foods A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, cakes and similar foods. ... Wilhelm II of Prussia and Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern (January 27, 1859 - June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia from 1888 - 1918. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ...

Electric street lighting

In 1891 Hammerfest was the first urban settlement in Northern Europe to get electrical street lights. The invention was brought to Hammerfest by two of the town's merchants who had seen it demonstrated at a fair in Paris. Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Northern Europe is marked in dark blue Northern Europe is a name of the northern part of the European continent. ... A roadway light in front of a red sky at night A street light, street lamp, light standard or lamp standard, is a raised source of light on the edge of a road, turned on or lit at a certain time every night. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

Destruction in WWII

Hammerfest was forcibly evacuated by occupying German troops in 1944-1945 and then looted and burned to the ground by them when they retreated. The Museum of Reconstruction in Hammerfest tells the story of these events and the recovery of the town. Hammerfest is also home to the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society (Isbjørnklubben), and a museum displaying the history of Arctic hunting. Starting with the invasion of April 9, 1940, Norway was under military occupation of German forces and civil rule of a German commissioner in collaboration with a Norwegian fascist government. ... The Museum of Reconstruction in Hammerfest is the second and more significant museum in this small town, which is the worlds most northerly permanent settlement of more than 5,000 people. ... The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society of Hammerfest in Norway is a small museum and tourist attraction in the worlds most northerly town. ...

The Rypefjord suburb in Hammerfest

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (768x1024, 204 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Finnmark Hammerfest Rypefjord ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (768x1024, 204 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Finnmark Hammerfest Rypefjord ... Rypefjord Rypefjord is a village in the municipality of Hammerfest, Norway. ...

Birdlife

The region is known for its many areas of pristine nature. Here you can find solitude, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. For people wishing to explore and experience nature, Hammerfest makes a great starting point. Look for Reindeer or some of the many species of birds that can be found. For more information check; Bird Watching In Norway - Hammerfest. Binomial name Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758) Reindeer map The reindeer, known as caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer (Rangifer tarandus). ...

Trivia

• In Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999), Hammerfest housed an important GDI base that was defended by one of their potent Firestorm Generators.

The emblem of the United Nations Global Defense Initiative The Global Defense Initiative (GDI) is a fictional military faction in the science fiction computer game Command & Conquer. ...

See also

• Ole Olsen

Ole Olsen (4 July 1850 - 9 November 1927) was a Norwegian organist, composer and conductor. ...

External links

• Information from Statoil about the Snøhvit LNG construction (english)
• Hammerfest official tourist information
• Finnmark University College
• Arctic booms as climate change melts polar ice cap
• Turist information
• Power station using tidal current as energy in Kvalsund
• New oil field discovered only 45 km off the coast
• Goliat oil field larger than previously thought
• Information about the planned natural gas power plant with CO2 reduction (norwegian)