Gjesvær (Norwegian) Geaissvearra (Northern Sami) | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 View of the village | |
 | |
| Coordinates:71°05′53″N25°22′34″E / 71.09806°N 25.37611°E /71.09806; 25.37611 | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Northern Norway |
| County | Finnmark |
| District | Vest-Finnmark |
| Municipality | Nordkapp Municipality |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 130 |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 9765 Gjesvær |
Gjesvær (Norwegian) orGeaissvearra (Northern Sami) is an oldfishing village inNordkapp Municipality inFinnmark county,Norway. It is the only place in Finnmark known from theViking Age and is mentioned in theHeimskringla saga asGeirsver.[2] The name comes from the name of a bird calledgeirfugl.[3]
The location was used byVikings on the way toBjarmaland (seeOttar from Hålogaland), and probably also for gathering food on the nearbyGjesværstappan islands which contain one of the largest seabird colonies in Norway.
Like most other places in Finnmark, all buildings in the village were burned down in 1944 by theGerman occupying forces.Gjesvær Chapel, built in 1960, is considered a cultural monument.
Gjesvær now has approximately 100 inhabitants, but at the beginning of the 1970s, it had about 350 people. It has a fish processing plant, local shop, post office, and primary school. The main industry isfishing, but in recent years there has been increased emphasis ontourism, activities including fishing and bird watching trips to the Gjesværstappan nature reserve.
Gjesvær was historically a part ofMåsøy Municipality, along with the sparsely populated western part ofMagerøya island. There were no road connections across the island, so residents traveled by boat whenever they left the village and by boat, they are closer to Måsøy. In 1977, the 22-mile (35 km) longNorwegian County Road 156 was completed, connecting Gjesvær by acauseway toMagerøya island and then continuing on toHonningsvåg. For this reason, the municipal boundary was moved. On 1 January 1984, Gjesvær and the western part of Magerøya were transferred from Måsøy municipality toNordkapp Municipality.
