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| Vadsø kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
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| County | Finnmark | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-2003 | ||
| Administrative centre | Vadsø | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2008) | Svein Dragnes (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 77 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 1,258 km2 (485.7 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 1,234 km2 (476.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 6,187 | ||
| - Density | 5/km2 (12.9/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | -3.2 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 162 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål | ||
| Demonym | Vadsøværing 1 | ||
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| Website: www.vadso.kommune.no | |||
Vadsø (help·info) (Čáhcesuolu in Northern Sami or Vesisaari in Kven/Finnish) is a city and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality and the county of Finnmark.
Vadsø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of a low population and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for the municipality of Vadsø in 1838. (See also Hammerfest and Vardø.)
The rural districts of Vadsø were separated from the city in three stages: Nesseby (in 1846), Sør-Varanger (in 1858), and Nord-Varanger (in 1894). The last one was, however, merged back into the city on 1 January 1964.
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General information
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was Vatnsøy. The first element is the genitive case of vatn which means "water" and the last element is øy which means "island". Therefor the meaning of the name is "the island with drinking water".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 20 February 1976. The arms show the head of a reindeer stag in silver on a red background. The reindeer is the main domestic animal in the municipality and thus of great economic importance.23
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.
Transportation
Vadsø has an airport (Vadsø Airport) and is also a port of call for the Hurtigruten boats.
Geography
The municipality of 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).
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 harbor at Vadsø can produce all three species of Eider, including the small and stunning Steller's Eider.
Notable residents
The most well known citizen is Morten Gamst Pedersen, a left-midfield soccer player playing for the Blackburn Rovers F.C. in the English Premier League. He also plays for the Norwegian Football Club.
Sister cities
Vadsø is twinned with the following cities:
- Holstebro, Denmark
- Karkkila, Finland- - Kemijärvi, Finland
- Murmansk, Russia
- Oxelösund, Sweden
References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg". Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn. (Norwegian)
- ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/v/vadso.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-13.
- ^ "Kommunevåpen". Flags of the World. 28 June 2002. http://fotw.us/flags/no-20-03.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-13.
External links
- Varanger.com: tourist information about Varanger area
- Sprett.net - local webportal (Norwegian)
- List of town twinnings in Scandinavia (Norwegian)
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