Vestvågøy
Theme - 1
The Lofoten Islands
Located on the northwest coast of Norway,
Lofoten stretches out into the North Sea as a
string of islands about 200 km long. The area is
distinctive with majestic naked mountain formations
surrounded by the sea. The principal islands are
Austvågøy, Gimsøy, Vestvågøy,
Flakstadøy; Moskenesøy;
Værøy and Røst. Today, bridges
and tunnels connect the largest islands, and the
area has around 24,500 inhabitants.
Viewed from the coastline of Norway, Lofoten
stretches like a wall of mountains to the southwest
in the sea. The Vestfjord is situated between the
mainland and this "Lofoten Wall".
The Gulf Stream which runs up along the western
coast of Norway, provides a warmer climate than
other parts of the world at the same latitude, such
as Alaska and Greenland.
Lofoten's Stone
Age inhabitants survived by fishing and hunting
in an area which provided good living. The area was
probably covered by large pine and birch woods at
that time. Agriculture developed early, and grain
was harvested in Lofoten as early as 4,000 years
ago.
During the Iron
Age and the Viking
period, several chieftains' seats were probably
established. Remains from a Viking chieftain's seat
have been excavated at Borg on
Vestvågøy Island, containing the
largest building from the Viking period ever
found.
The Lofoten Fisheries gained early importance.
As early as the 12th century, King Øystein
considered these fisheries to be of such
significance that he has a church built as well as
fishermen's cabins in Vågan
(Austvågøy). Stockfish soon became an
important trade-article, and was sold all over
Europe. Today, archaeologists have been excavating
at Vågar, the only medieval town of the North
Calotte.
The winter fisheries for cod are still important
for the settlement in Lofoten. Between January and
April, fishermen from all over North Norway arrive,
because of the Norwegian Arctic cod's spawning in
the Vestfjord. As well as fishing agriculture is
still significant to some of the areas in
Lofoten.
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This
project has been supported by the EU as part of the Culture
2000 programme.