Norwegen / Nordland / Tschüss Lofoten
View back on the ferry from Moskenes to Bodø
Rückblick auf der Fähre von Moskenes nach Bodø
Lofoten (Norwegian, pronounced [ˈlùːfuːtn̩]; English pronunciation: /ˈloʊfoʊtən, loʊˈfoʊtən/, LOH-foh-tən, loh-FOH-tən), Lufoahtta (Lule Sami), or Lufuohttá (Northern Sami) is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær and Leknes – the latter is approximately 169 km (105 mi) north of the Arctic Circle and approximately 2,420 km (1,500 mi) away from the North Pole. The archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.
Etymology
In Norway, the archipelago and the area are called Lofoten. There have been many attempts to research the backgrounds and meanings of both the names Lofoten and Ofoten, which has led to many theories, but no definite information. Critical examination has not reached any generally accepted and justified interpretation of the name.
According to one explanation Lofoten (Old Norse: Lófótr) was the original name of the island Vestvågøya. The first element is ló (i.e., "lynx") and the last element is derived from Norse fótr (i.e., "foot"), as the shape of the island must have been compared with that of a lynx's foot. (The old name of the neighbouring island Flakstadøya was Vargfót, "wolf's foot", from vargr "wolf".) The explanation has at least been seen in an article about Lofoten published in The New York Times newspaper, for which the reporter had claimed to have heard the explanation from the locals. However, this interpretation of the name has also received criticism. It is considered doubtful that the name Lófót itself meant the island of Vestvågøya from the beginning. Unlike, for example, the local names Værøya and Gimsøya, where the names clearly contain the endings meaning the island, the "i Lofot" appearing in the texts rather refers to the district, which nevertheless also included Vestvågøya.
Alternatively, the name could derive from the word for light in reference to the presence of Aurora Borealis as the word for light itself is the root of the Old Norse word for lynx lóa, although the earliest evidence suggests Lófótr was first the name of the island of Vestvågøy and only later becoming the name of the chain of islands. Most parsimonious is the analogy with Aurora Borealis, as the word fótr is typically not used to describe the feet of beasts of prey, instead using the word hrammr (paw) or löpp (also paw) for animals such as cats or dogs. Fótr can be used to describe legs, and as such, light leg represents the most plausible etymology taking into account the geography of the archipelago, eventually morphing to describe only the island of Vestvågøy before once again describing the island chain from its main island.
Another name one might come across is "Lofotveggen" or the Lofoten wall. The archipelago looks like a closed wall when seen from elevated points around Bodø Municipality or when arriving from the sea, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) long, and 800–1,000 metres (2,600–3,300 feet) high.
History
According to Robert M. D'Anjou and others: "There is evidence of human settlement extending back at least 11,000 years in Lofoten, and the earliest archaeological sites ... are only about 5,500 years old, at the transition from the early to late Stone Age". Iron Age agriculture, livestock, and significant human habitation can be traced back to c. 250 BC.
The town of Vågan (Old Norse: Vágar) is the first known town formation in northern Norway. It existed in the early Viking Age, maybe earlier, and was located on the southern coast on eastern Lofoten, near today's village Kabelvåg in Vågan Municipality. The Lofotr Viking Museum with the reconstructed 83-metre-long (272 ft) longhouse (the largest known) is located near Borg on Vestvågøya, which has many archeological finds from the Iron Age and Viking Age.
The islands have for more than 1,000 years been the centre of great cod fisheries, especially in winter, when the cod migrate south from the Barents Sea and gather in Lofoten to spawn. Bergen in southwestern Norway was for a long time the hub for further export of cod south to different parts of Europe, particularly so when trade was controlled by the Hanseatic League. In the lowland areas, particularly Vestvågøy, agriculture plays a significant role, as it has done since the Bronze Age.
In March 1941 the islands were raided by British Commandos during Operation Claymore, and in a subsequent diversionary attack to support the Vaagso raid in December.
As of 2017, the islands attract one million tourists a year.
Geography
Lofoten is located at the 68th and 69th parallels north of the Arctic Circle in North Norway. Lofoten encompasses the municipalities of Vågan, Vestvågøy, Flakstad, Moskenes, Værøy, and Røst. The principal islands, running from north to south are:
Southern tip of Hinnøya
Southern 60% (approx.) of Austvågøya (526.7 square kilometres (203.4 square miles) in total
Gimsøya (46.4 square kilometres (17.9 square miles)
Vestvågøya (411.1 square kilometres (158.7 square miles)
Flakstadøya (109.8 square kilometres (42.4 square miles)
Moskenesøya (185.9 square kilometres (71.8 square miles)
Further to the south are the small and isolated islands of Værøy Municipality and Røst Municipality. The total land area amounts to 1,227 square kilometres (474 square miles), and the population totals 24,500. Many will argue that Hinnøya, the northern part of Austvågøya and several hundred smaller islands, skerries, and rocks to the east of Austvågøya are also part of the Lofoten district. Historically, the territorial definition of Lofoten has changed significantly. Between the mainland and the Lofoten archipelago lies the vast, open Vestfjorden, and to the north is the Vesterålen district. The principal towns in Lofoten are Leknes in Vestvågøy Municipality and Svolvær in Vågan Municipality. The main islands are joined to each other and the mainland by road bridges.
The Lofoten Islands are characterised by their mountains and peaks, sheltered inlets, stretches of seashore and large virgin areas. The highest mountain in Lofoten is Higravstinden (1,161 metres (3,809 feet)) in Austvågøy; the Møysalen National Park just northeast of Lofoten has mountains reaching 1,262 metres (4,140 feet). The famous Moskstraumen (Malstrøm) system of tidal eddies is located in western Lofoten, and is indeed the root of the term maelstrom.
Geology
Lofoten is a horst ridge of bedrock. The rocks of Lofoten belong to the wider Western Gneiss Region of Norway. Some of the high relief and irregular surfaces of Lofoten has been attributed to etching that took place during the Mesozoic Era. Evidence of this would be the kaolinite found at some locations. To the northwest the Lofoten archipelago is bounded by the NE–SW-trending West Lofoten Border Fault. This is a normal fault whose fault scarp has been eroded forming a strandflat.
In Vestvågøya mountains have steep slopes towards the open sea in the northwest and southeast while slopes pointing towards the interior of the island are more gentle. This is the result of erosion acting on a landscape that has been uplifted along NE–SW-trending faults in the margins of Lofoten while the interior axis has remained more stable. In tectonic terms mountains are half-grabens and faults are of the dip-slip type.
The sea around Lofoten is known to host significant oil reserves: 1.3 bn barrels. Oil extraction in the Lofoten area is prohibited.
Wildlife
The sea is rich with life, and the world's largest deep water coral reef, called the Røst Reef, is located west of Røst. Approximately 70% of all fish caught in the Norwegian and Barents seas use its islands' waters as a breeding ground. Otters are common, and there are elk on the largest islands. There are some woodlands with downy birch and rowan. There are no native conifer forests in Lofoten, but some small areas with private spruce plantations. Hedlundia hybrida and Malus sylvestris occur in Lofoten, but not further north.
Birds
Some 27,000 hectares (100 sq mi) of marine waters along the north-western coasts and fjords of the Lofoten Islands have been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International (BLI) because it supports overwintering populations of common eiders and yellow-billed loons. The IBA contains or overlaps with the Seløya, Morfjorden, Laukvikøyene, Eggum and Borgværet nature reserves, as well as the Laukvikøyene Ramsar site. Lofoten has a high density of sea eagles and cormorants, and millions of other sea birds, among them the colourful puffin. It has mainland Europe's largest seabird colony. The birds once mistaken for the extinct great auk turned out to be some of the nine king penguins released around Norway's Lofoten Islands in August 1936, there until at least 1944.
Climate
Lofoten features a mostly subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) under the Köppen climate classification, although some parts like Skrova feature a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). Winter temperatures in Lofoten are extremely mild considering its location north of the Arctic Circle – possibly the largest positive temperature anomaly in the world relative to latitude. The mild winters are a result of the temperate waters of the Norwegian Sea, which is warmed by the North Atlantic Current and the Norwegian Current. The mild air (Lows) from the Atlantic having a free path northwards even in winter is also very significant.
Strong winds can occur in late autumn and winter. Snow and sleet are not uncommon in winter. The mountains can have substantial amounts of snow, and avalanches may come down from the steep slopes.
In Svolvær, the sun is above the horizon continuously ("midnight sun") from 25 May to 17 July, and in winter the sun does not rise from 4 December to 7 January. In Leknes, the sun is above the horizon from 26 May to 17 July, and in winter the sun does not rise from 9 December to 4 January.
The temperature in the sea has been recorded since 1935. At 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) depth in the sea near Skrova, water temperatures vary from a low of 3 °C (37 °F) in March to 14 °C (57 °F) in August, some years peaking above 17 °C (63 °F). November is around 7–8 °C (45–46 °F). At a depth of 200 metres (660 feet), the temperature is near 8 °C (46 °F) all year. Skrova lighthouse on an island near Svolvær has the longest recording of air temperature in Lofoten. The warmest temperature recorded is 30.4 °C (86.7 °F) in June 1972. The coldest temperature recorded is −15.1 °C (4.8 °F) in February 1966. The last overnight freeze in June was in 1962, and the last freeze in September was in 1986. Skrova and nearby Svolvær are among those places in North Norway that can record what Norwegians know as "tropical nights" when the overnight low does not go below 20 °C (68 °F). The warmest night recorded in Lofoten was July 1 1972 at Skrova with low 23.8 °C (74.8 °F), and the earliest in summer was June 10th 2011 with low 21.5 °C (70.7 °F). The wettest month recorded is December 1936 with 227 mm, and the driest is January 2014 with 0.9 mm.
Even if the islands are not that large, there are climatic differences. Værøy and Røst furthest west have the warmest winters, but summer highs are cooler. Vestvågøy with the town Leknes has lowland in the interior of the island with mountains nearby; winters here are slightly colder and much wetter than at Skrova, while summers are drier and comparable.
In popular culture
Literature
Edgar Allan Poe's short story "A Descent into the Maelström" tells the story of a man who survived his ship being drawn into and swallowed by Moskstraumen.
Many of the novels of Knut Hamsun are situated in the Lofoten.
Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870) concludes with the Nautilus having fallen into the Maelström, and Prof. Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land, who had been attempting to escape when the Nautilus began its fall, washed up on an island in the Lofotens.
Johan Bojer's novel The Last of the Vikings (1922) tells the story of the Lofoten cod fishermen.
In Ole Edvart Rølvaag's novel Giants in the Earth, the Norwegian protagonists settling in Dakota Territory are immigrants from Lofoten.
The poem "Pilot Nagel" from the Greek sailor-poet Nikos Kavvadias tells the story of the Norwegian sailor Nagel Harbor, who dies at the port of Colombo, while escorting a steamer tank on its way to his homeland, the Lofoten islands.
Films
In the film Maelström, Lofoten is where the ashes of Annstein Karson are distributed.
In the film The Sunlit Night, Lofoten is where the protagonist Frances decides to aid a fellow critically reviled artist.
Television
The Norwegian television crime drama series Twin, which premiered on 27 October 2019 on NRK, is set in the Lofoten Islands.
The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick special was filmed in Lofoten in 2022.
Paintings
Norwegian painter Gunnar Berg was known for his paintings of his native Lofoten. He principally painted scenes of the everyday life of the local fishermen. Other artists whose work has been associated with Lofoten include Adelsteen Normann, Otto Sinding, Christian Krohg, Theodor Kittelsen, Lev Lagorio, Ernst Wilhelm Nay and Ingo Kühl.
(Wikipedia)
Lofoten (norwegisch: [ˈlùːfuːtn̩], nordsamisch: Lofuohta oder Váhki) ist eine Region in der norwegischen Provinz (Fylke) Nordland und Teil einer Inselgruppe vor der Küste Nordnorwegens, bestehend aus etwa 80 Inseln, unter anderem Austvågøya, Skrova, Gimsøya, Vestvågøya, Flakstadøy, Moskenesøy, Værøy und Røst. Der norwegische Distrikt Lofoten umfasst im Wesentlichen die Inselgruppe.
Name
„Lófót“ bezeichnete ursprünglich nur die Insel Vestvågøya und wurde erst später auf die gesamte Inselgruppe ausgedehnt. Die Insel Flakstadøy wurde „Vargfót“ (Wolfsfuß) genannt. Die Bedeutung des Namens könnte als „die Luchspfote“ übersetzt werden, von ló für Luchs, und foten, die Pfote (wobei die Endung -en im skandinavischen Sprachraum ein bestimmter Artikel ist).
Obwohl der Name Lofoten im Norwegischen im Singular steht, wird die Region im Deutschen fälschlicherweise oft als „die Lofoten“ bezeichnet, da die Endung -en, die im Norwegischen als bestimmter Artikel im Singular fungiert, von Sprechern des Deutschen als Pluralmarkierung reanalysiert wird, wie dies beim Namen anderer Inselgruppen (wie der Malediven, Kanaren oder Aleuten) üblich ist; und wie bei Kapverden bezeichnet es sowohl die Inselgruppe als auch die Verwaltungseinheit. Üblicher- und korrekterweise wird Lofoten (dem Norwegischen entsprechend) indes als Region behandelt und im Singular verwendet, vergleichbar mit anderen norwegischen Regionen wie dem benachbarten Vesterålen, mit deutschen Bundesländern (Hessen oder Bayern), Ländern (Norwegen, Schweden) oder auch Orten wie z. B. Bergen oder Gelsenkirchen.
Eine ähnliche Reanalyse des Namens als Pluralform gibt es in mehreren slawischen Sprachen, unter anderem im Polnischen und Tschechischen (Lofoty). In romanischen Sprachen wird meist von „den Lofoten-Inseln“ gesprochen (frz. Îles Lofoten, ital. Isole Lofoten, span. Islas Lofoten).
Lage und Daten
Lofoten liegt etwa 100 bis 300 km nördlich des Polarkreises im Atlantik, vom Festland getrennt durch den Vestfjord. Das Gebiet liegt zwischen dem 67. und 68. Breitengrad und grenzt sich nordöstlich durch den Raftsund von der in ihrer Gesamtheit nördlicher gelegenen Region und Inselgruppe Vesterålen ab. Die größten Inseln sind durch Brücken oder Tunnel miteinander verbunden. Eine der Inseln, Austvågøya, ist südlich Teil von Lofoten, wogegen der nordöstliche Teil der Insel zur Kommune Hadsel und somit zum Distrikt Vesterålen gehört. Auch die südwestliche Spitze der Insel Hinnøya gilt als Teil von Lofoten, weil sie früher nur mit dem Boot von Svolvær aus erreichbar war.
Administrativ gehört der Distrikt Lofoten zum Fylke (Provinz) Nordland. Die größte Stadt und somit der wichtigste Ort in Lofoten ist Svolvær auf Austvågøya. Im Distrikt Lofoten gibt es sechs Kommunen (Gemeinden): Vågan, Vestvågøy, Flakstad, Moskenes, Værøy und Røst.
Die Region Lofoten hat circa 24.000 Einwohner und eine Fläche von 1227 km².
Geschichte
Seit circa 6000 Jahren ist Lofoten bevölkert. Ursprünglich lebte man dort vom Fischfang und von der Jagd. Während der Wikingerzeit bildeten sich mehrere Siedlungen mit Häuptlingshöfen. Eine Nachbildung ist in Borg wieder aufgebaut worden.
Spätestens ab dem 14. Jahrhundert wurde Bergen zum Zentrum des Fischhandels, insbesondere von Stockfisch. 1431 strandeten die Überlebenden der Querina auf einer der Lofoteninseln. Ihr Bericht stellt die früheste schriftliche Quelle über die Bewohner dar. Je nach der Größe des Fischfangs, zunächst ausschließlich Heilbutt, ging es den Einwohnern der Inseln gut oder schlecht. Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts gab es große Heringsvorkommen, die zu weiteren Besiedlungen führten.
Landschaft
Die Landschaft war viele Jahrhunderte karg und kahl, es gab nur noch wenige Bäume, weil der Mensch die meisten Wälder für den Haus-, Schiffs- und Trockengestellbau abgeholzt hatte. Mittlerweile ist der Baumbestand in weiten Teilen von Lofoten wieder erheblich angewachsen. Seit 2018 gehören die Westküste der südlichsten Insel Moskenesøy und vorgelagerte Inseln als Lofotodden-Nationalpark zu den Nationalparks in Norwegen.
Vorrangig sind die Ostseiten der Inseln besiedelt, da dort Wind und Seegang weniger stark angreifen – die stellenweise über 1200 Meter hohen Berge in Lofoten haben alpinen Charakter und halten allzu starke Wettereinflüsse ab. Die Gezeiten pressen das Wasser mit heftiger Gewalt zwischen den einzelnen Inseln hindurch, so dass zum Teil gefährliche Strudel entstehen. Am bekanntesten ist der so genannte Mahlstrom oder Moskenstraumen. Bekannt ist die Region auch dafür, dass sich die Nordlichter sehr gut beobachten lassen, da das Winterklima relativ mild ist und das Aurora-Oval Lofoten kreuzt. Informationen zu den genannten Nordlichtern finden sich im Polarlichtzentrum in Laukvik.
Geologie
Lofoten ist überwiegend aus alten Gesteinen aufgebaut, welche zu den Svekofenniden gehören und ein Alter von 1,8–1,79 Ga aufweisen. Es handelt sich überwiegend um Charnockite, Gabbros, Paragneise sowie vereinzelte Eklogite. Diese svekofennischen Einheiten wurden im Zuge der kaledonischen Gebirgsbildung von den kaledonischen Decken überschoben, jedoch durch Hebung und Erosion wieder freigelegt („exhumiert“).
Klima
Die nördlichen Ausläufer des Golfstroms sorgen für ein relativ mildes Klima in Lofoten.
Wirtschaft
Fischfang und -verarbeitung
Der Haupterwerbszweig der „Lofotinger“ ist neben dem Tourismus der Fischfang und die damit verbundene Industrie. Der Lofotfischfang, zu dem Jahr für Jahr hunderte kleinere Fischerboote zusammenkommen, findet von Mitte Januar bis Mitte April statt. Den Hauptanteil der Fänge bildet der geschlechtsreife Kabeljau. In den besten Zeiten wurden in einer Saison bis zu 146.000 Tonnen Fisch in Lofoten angelandet. Im Jahr 2015 betrug die Menge an gefangenem Kabeljau 65.195 Tonnen. Gefangener Dorsch (wie Kabeljau auch bezeichnet wird) wird zu Klippfisch oder Stockfisch (Tørrfisk) verarbeitet, der vor allem für den Export vorgesehen ist.
Erdöl und Erdgas
Obwohl in der Vergangenheit geologische Erkundungen unternommen wurden, gab es bis 2017 keine Genehmigungen zur Förderung von Erdöl und Erdgas im Gebiet von Lofoten. Die seit September 2017 amtierende norwegische Minderheitsregierung wurde unter der Bedingung gewählt, auch weiterhin keine Genehmigungen dafür zu erteilen.
(Wikipedia)
