Hamningberg today.
Photo: Jarle Waehler
At the far end of the Varanger Peninsula in Båtsfjord municipality lies Hamningberg, one of many abandoned fishing villages on the Finnmark coast. The fishing village has a well-preserved building environment from the late 19th century. Hamningberg is currently inhabited during the summer months, and both the cultural environment and the distinctive landscape make the place worth a visit.
Practical info
Practical info
Opening hours
The road to Hamningberg is closed in winter. Otherwise open
Parking and toilets
Hamningberg has a large parking lot adapted for campers and with toilets and a picnic area
Catering
Food available daily in July, outside of high season it is a good idea to bring a packed lunch
How to get here
At Vardø Airport, turn off onto county road 341 and follow this for approx. 40 km to the end point
Other offers and opportunities
Hiking trail in Skjåvika - Ytre Syltevika nature reserve Our landscape conservation areas and nature reserves
Hiking trail to the coastal fort at Hardbaken starts in Hamningberg, see Perletur 14. Hardbakken, Hamningberg
Accessibility
Accessibility
Toilets at the picnic area are wheelchair accessible. Roads in the village are easy to roll on.
A central fishing village is emerging
The rich resources in the sea provided the basis for the settlement of Hamningberg, and the place has been mentioned as a significant fishing village in Eastern Finnmark since the 16th century. Production and export of stockfish provided the basis for a concentrated settlement. Hamningberg was a typical seasonal village, with well over 1,000 visiting fishermen during the spring cod fishing. These were accommodated in the many fishermen's huts, among other things. The outrigger quays were located close to the weather. Here there were several fish farms with warehouses and fishermen's huts, at most 10-15 farms. The fish was hung and salted, and the fish shelves covered all available areas in the weather.
The building environment in Hamningberg
Hamningberg is one of the few places in Finnmark that escaped systematic burning or bombing during World War II. The village therefore has a building environment of high cultural-historical value, and the houses here have been well cared for and restored. Local characteristics can be found in some farm buildings where the house is built together with outbuildings and barns, so-called Varangerhus. The most special feature in the building environment today is probably the elongated Russian fishermen's huts, built around 1850. The fishermen's huts are physical traces from the time when the Pomors, i.e. Russian fishermen and traders, left their mark on the fishing village.
In addition to a walk among the houses in Hamningberg, there are hiking opportunities both with a hiking trail to the coastal fort at Hardbaken right above the village, and a hiking trail among ancient cultural monuments along the seashore into the Ytre Syltevika nature reserve.
