Hurtigruten

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MS Midnatsol

Hurtigruten (or Hurtigruta) is a Norwegian coastal transport service which is over a hundred years old. Hurtigruten or Coastal Express was established in 1893 by the North Norwegian steamship company Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskap as a weekly sailing route between Trondheim and Kirkenes in Norway. Aided by government subsidies, Hurtigruten expanded its route to the current 11-day round trip between Bergen and Kirkenes, which includes 32 other ports. Hurtigruten has played an important role providing the long Norwegian coast with reliable transport services for goods and people. It still plays an important role even though other types of transport (on roads and in air) are taking over. Today Hurtigruten is recognised as one of Europe's biggest attractions and is internationally acknowledged as the "world's most beautiful sea voyage".^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} It was operated by OVDS and TFDS up to 2005. The two companies merged in December 2005 and called themselves the Hurtigruten Group.

Fleet

MS Polarlys in Ålesund (December 2005)

The older Finnmarken is a museum in Stokmarknes, the birth place of Hurtigruten.

MS Midnatsol
MS Trollfjord
MS Finnmarken
MS Nordnorge
MS Polarlys
MS Nordkapp
MS Nordlys
MS Richard With
MS Kong Harald
MS Vesterålen
MS Narvik
MS Lofoten
MS Nordstjernen
MS Lyngen

The classical coastal steamer vessel Finnmarken (previous to the current vessel by the same name) built in 1956, is now a public museum for tourists on land used to show how the hurtigruten have been used over the years. A new Finnmarken has been issued since and added to the fleet above.

Sailing list

In the sequence of the northerly passage.

External links

[Hurtigruten]

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