Vadsø
Encyclopedia : V : VA : VAD : Vadsø
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| County | Finnmark | |
| District | ||
| Municipality | ||
| Administrative centre | Vadsø | |
| Mayor (2003) | Hauk Johnsen (Ap) | |
| Official language form | Bokmål | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage | 1,258 Square kilometre>km² 1,234 km² 0.39 % | |
| Population - Total (as of 2004>2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density | Ranked 162 6,186 0.14 % -3.2 % 5/km² | |
| Coordinates | ||
| [www.vadso.kommune.no] [Data from Statistics Norway] | ||
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, 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 is, unlike most places in Finnmark, a number of 19c. 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.
Vadsø is the administrative centre of the county of Finnmark. It has an airport and is also a port of call for the Hurtigruten.
External links
| Municipalities of Finnmark |
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| Alta | Berlevåg | Båtsfjord | Gamvik | Hammerfest | Hasvik | Karasjok | Kautokeino | Kvalsund | Lebesby | Loppa | Måsøy | Nesseby | Nordkapp | Porsanger | Sør-Varanger | Tana | Vadsø | Vardø | |
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