Everything about Vads totally explained
(
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
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 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
January 1,
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
Further Information
Get more info on 'Vads'.
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