Vadsø

Infobox_Kommune
name=Vadsø
idnumber=2003
county=Finnmark
landscape=
capital=Vadsø
governor=Svein Dragnes (Ap)
governor_as_of=2008
arearank=77
area=1258
arealand=1234
areapercent=0.39
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=162
population=6,187
populationpercent=0.14
populationdensity=5
populationincrease=-3.2
language=Bokmål
lat_deg=70| lat_min=04| lat_sec=35| lon_deg=29| lon_min=44| lon_sec=54
utm_zone=34W| utm_northing=7785928 |utm_easting=0606821| geo_cat=adm2nd

munwebpage=www.vadso.kommune.no
Audio|Vadsoe.ogg|Vadsø (Čáhcesuolu in Northern Sami, Vesisaari in Finnish) is a city and municipality in the county of Finnmark, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Finnmark.

Vadsø was established as a municipality 1 January 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 Vadsø in 1838. See also Hammerfest and Vardø.

The rural districts of Vadsø were separated from the city in three stages: Nesseby (1846), Sør-Varanger (1858) and Nord-Varanger (1894). The last one was, however, again merged with the city 1 January 1964.

Geography

Vadsø forms the southern coast of the Varanger Peninsula, which is largely covered by birch forests on this more sheltered side (as opposed to the northern side).

History

In the 1500s the settlement consisted of a fishing village and a church, located on the island of Vadsøya. The settlement later moved to the mainland. Township privilege was granted in 1833, and soon settlers came from Finland and the northern part of Sweden, which suffered from famine. Finnish was rapidly becoming the language of the majority, and this continued through decades. Even today Finnish is still spoken in some households. During World War II, Vadsø suffered several air raids from the Soviet Union. However, there are, unlike most places in Finnmark, a number of nineteenth century wooden houses preserved close to the city centre, notably the house of Esbensen, built by a Norwegian, and the house of Tuomainen, built by a Finn. On the island of Vadsøya is the airship mast used by Umberto Nobile and Roald Amundsen for their expedition over the North Pole with the airship "Norge" in 1926, and used again on Nobile's flight with the airship "Italia" in 1928.

Communications

Vadsø has an airport and is also a port of call for the Hurtigruten.

The name

The Norse form of the name was "Vatnsøy". The first element is the genitive case of "vatn" n 'water', the last element is "øy" f 'island'. The meaning of the name is 'the island with drinking water'.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1976). It shows the head of a reindeer.

See also the coat-of-arms of Eidfjord, Porsanger, Rendalen, Tromsø and Vågå.)

Birdlife

Situated on the shores of the Varangerfjord the municipality of Vadsø is known for its interesting birdlife. Many of its coastal localities like Store Ekkerøy are internationally known for its rich and interesting birdlife. The harbour at Vadsø can produce all three species of Eider, including the small and stunning Steller's Eider.

Town twinnings

External links

* [http://www.varanger.com/index.php?lang=eng Varanger.com - tourist information about Varanger area (English)]
* [http://www.sprett.net Sprett.net - local webportal (Norwegian)]
* [http://www.norden.no/vennskap_oversikt.html List of town twinnings in Scandinavia] (Norwegian)