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Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea (Atlantic Ocean) to the northwest, and the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean) to the north and northeast.
The county was formerly known as Finmarkens amt or Vardøhus amt. Since 2002, it has had two official names: Finnmark (Norwegian) and Finnmárku (Northern Sami). It is part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, and is Norway's second-largest and least populous county.
In January 2020, Finnmark merged with the neighbouring county of Troms to form Troms og Finnmark county. In January 2024, the counties of Finnmark and Troms were restored after parliament decided in June 2022 to separate them.
The Sámi were for years victims of the Norwegianization policy, which in essence was an attempt by the government to make them "true Norwegians" and forget about their Sámi way of life and religion, which was seen as inferior. As a result, the Sámi living at the coast and in the fjords gradually lost much of their culture and often felt ashamed of their Sámi heritage. The Sámi in the interior managed to preserve more of their culture. In the 1970s, instruction of the Sámi language started in schools, and a new sense of consciousness started to grow among the Sámi; today most are proud of their background and culture.
In the midst of this awakening (1979), Norway's government decided to build a dam in Alta to produce hydropower, provoking multiple Sámi and to demonstrations and civil disobedience—Alta conflict. In the end, the dam was built on a much smaller scale than originally intended and the Sámi culture was on the government's agenda. The Sámi parliament ( Sámediggi) was opened in Karasjok in 1989.
The first known fortification in Finnmark is Vardøhus festning, first erected in 1306 by King Haakon V Magnusson. This is the world's most northern fortress. In the 17th century, 88 young women were burned as witches in Vardø, an extremely high number compared to the total population in this area at the time. The first person burned as witch in Vardø in the 17th century was a man. Vardø
Finnmark first became subject to increased colonization in the 18th and 19th century. Norway, Sweden, and Russia all claimed control over this area. Finland was part of Russia at that time and had no independent representative. Finnmark was given the status of an Amt (county) in the 19th century. For a time, there was a vibrant trade with Russia (Pomor trade), and a number of Norwegians settled on the Kola Peninsula (see Kola Norwegians).
Per Fugelli has said that World War II resulted in many persons acquiring psychiatric disorders ( psykiske senskadene) which could be from experiencing "bombing, accidents involving Land mine, burning down of homes, forcible evacuation, illness and starvation during the war and liberation. But it was maybe in particular the treatment of Russian prisoners that left marks on the local population."
After taking the town of Kirkenes on 25 October 1944, as the first town in Norway, the Red Army did not attempt further offensives in Norway. Free Norwegian forces arrived from Britain and liberated the rest of the county. When war was over, more than 70,000 people were left homeless in Finnmark. The government imposed a temporary ban on residents returning to Finnmark because of the danger of . The ban lasted until the summer of 1945 when evacuees were told that they could return home.
Knivskjellodden in Nordkapp Municipality (on the island of Magerøya) is sometimes considered Europe's northernmost point (on an island); Kinnarodden on Nordkinn Peninsula in Lebesby Municipality is the northernmost point on the European mainland. Honningsvåg in Finnmark claims to be world's northernmost city, and Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway and farther east than Istanbul.
The coast is indented by large , some of which (in a strict sense) are false fjords, as they are not carved out by glaciers. Some of Norway's largest sea bird colonies are on the northern coast; the largest are Hjelmsøystauran on the island of Hjelmsøya in Måsøy Municipality and Gjesværstappan in Nordkapp Municipality. The highest point is atop the glacier Øksfjordjøkelen, which has an area of , and is in Loppa Municipality. Both Øksfjordjøkelen and Seiland Glacier are in western Finnmark.
The Øksfjord plateau glacier Ice calving directly into the sea ( Jøkelfjorden) until 1900, the last glacier in mainland Norway to do so. Finnmark's central and eastern parts are generally less mountainous, and have no glaciers. The land east of Nordkapp is mostly below .
The nature varies from barren coastal areas facing the Barents Sea to more sheltered fjord areas and river valleys with gullies and tree vegetation. About half the county is above the tree line, and large parts of the other half is covered with small Downy birch.
The lushest areas are the Alta area and the Tana valleys, and in the east is the lowland area in the Pasvik valley in Sør-Varanger Municipality, where the Scots pine and spruce forest is considered part of the Russian taiga vegetation. This valley has the highest density of in Norway. It is the only place in Finland with a population of , stemming from their introduction from their native North America into Europe in the early 20th century, which included their release in 293 localities all over Finland from 1919 onward, and then of about 1,000 muskrats on the Kola Peninsula during 1931–36.Danell, Kjell. (1996). Introductions of aquatic rodents: lessons of the muskrat Ondatra zibethicus invasion. Wildlife Biology. 2. 213–220. 10.2981/wlb.1996.021.
The animal spread and the observations of first 'possible' muskrats in the river Altaelva area in Troms were made around 1960. The first specimen was recovered in 1969, when a muskrat was captured alive in in Tana Municipality.Danell, Kjell. (1996). Introductions of aquatic rodents: lessons of the muskrat Ondatra zibethicus invasion. Wildlife Biology. 2. 213–220. 10.2981/wlb.1996.021.
In 1970, another specimen was collected from Jarfjorden in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark (Pedersen 1970). Between 1980 and 1988 there were few observations of muskrats in Norway (Lund & Wikan 1995). Since 1988 there has been a rapid population increase in Sör-Varanger, and the muskrat has spread to almost every part of the municipality.Danell, Kjell. (1996). Introductions of aquatic rodents: lessons of the muskrat Ondatra zibethicus invasion. Wildlife Biology. 2. 213–220. 10.2981/wlb.1996.021. Lynx and moose are common in large parts of Finnmark, but rare on the coast.
The county's interior parts are part of the great Finnmarksvidda plateau, with an elevation of , with multiple lakes and river valleys. The plateau is famous for its tens of thousands of reindeer owned by the Sámi, and swarms of mosquitoes in midsummer. Finnmarksvidda makes up 36% of the county's area. Stabbursdalen National Park ensures protection for the world's northernmost Scots pine forest.
The Tana River, which partly defines the border with Finland, gives the largest catch of salmon of all rivers in Europe, and also has the world record for Atlantic salmon, . In the east, the Pasvikelva defines the border with Russia.
Karasjok has recorded up to in July, giving a possible year amplitude of , rare in Europe. Finnmarksvidda has annual mean temperatures down to at Sihcajavri in Kautokeino Municipality, the coldest in mainland Norway, except for higher mountain areas, and even colder than Jan Mayen and Bear Island. Sihcajavri has also recorded on 23 June 1920.
Due to the proximity to the ice-free ocean, winters are much milder in coastal areas, and more windy. Loppa Municipality has average January and July temperatures of and respectively, with an annual mean of , despite being further north. Average annual precipitation is . The wettest season is September until December. The year average temperature difference between Loppa and Karasjok (6 °C) is comparable to the difference between Loppa and London.
In the Köppen climate classification, the climate in Karasjok–and most of the lowland areas in Finnmark–corresponds to the Dfc category (subarctic climate). The Loppa climate corresponds to the Cfc category. The northeastern coast, from Nordkapp Municipality east to Vardø Municipality, have arctic tundra climate (Köppen: ET), as the average July temperature is below .
Elevations exceeding approximately in coastal areas in western Finnmark and in the interior result in an alpine climate. In the northeast, this merges with the Arctic polar climate.
The climate in sheltered parts of fjord areas, particularly the Altafjorden, is usually considered the most hospitable: winters are not as cold as in the interior, and summer warmth is comparable. Even if winter temperatures are milder in coastal areas, the coast is more exposed to winter storms, which often complicate or shut down road and air communications.
The Sami people core areas in Norway are in Finnmark, where they constitute about one quarter of the total population. Kautokeino Municipality, Karasjok Municipality, Tana Municipality, Nesseby Municipality, and Porsanger Municipality in Finnmark county (and some other municipalities in other counties) have official names in the Sami languages. Most municipalities in Sápmi have unofficial names in Sámi as well.
In the 18th century and the 19th century, a number of Finnish-speaking immigrants settled in Finnmark. Since 1996, they have had minority status as Kven people. The town of Vadsø () is often seen as the "Kven capital" in Finnmark.
Lakselv, in central Finnmark, is sometimes referred to as "meeting place for three tribes". After the collapse of the Soviet Union and severe economic troubles in the Russian economy during the 1990s, Russian immigrants and shoppers arrived in Kirkenes. Since the beginning of the European migrant crisis a number of Syrian refugees arrived in Kirkenes via Russia.
People have lived in Finnmark for at least 10,000 years. See Komsa, Pit-Comb Ware culture and Rock carvings at Alta. The destiny of these early cultures is unknown. Three ethnic groups have a long history in Finnmark: the Sami people, the Norwegian people, and the Kven people. Of these, the Sami probably were the first people to explore Finnmark.
Ohthere of Hålogaland was an adventurous Norwegian (Norseman) from Hålogaland, the area roughly corresponding to today's Nordland county. Around 890 AD, he claimed, according to historical sources (see Ohthere of Hålogaland) that he lived "north-most of all the Northmen", and that "no one lived to the north of him." Later, Norwegians in the 14th century, and Kvens in the 16th century, settled along the coast. See the articles on Kven people and Vardøhus Fortress for more details.
In more recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with the North Cape (in Nordkapp Municipality) and the towns of Alta and Hammerfest as the most important destinations.
As of 2001, one percent of the work force were employed in the oil industry and the mining industry.
There is some mining industry, though exploitation of the iron ores along the Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line was paused in 2015 and has not restarted as of 2022. Sydvaranger (gruveselskap), Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 2022-10-15
The slate industry in Alta is well known and have sold to customers as far away as Japan.
An irregular NRK no. Retrieved 2022-20-15 procurement of a commuter boat or in 2020, priced at Norwegian kroner 83 million, is still (as of 2022) causing fear that Finnmark will alone get stuck with paying off the boat (when Finnmark becomes a county in 2024); the expense can lead to budget cuts.
The town of Hammerfest is experiencing an economic boom as a consequence of Statoil's construction of the large land-based LNG site on the island of Melkøya, which gets natural gas from the Snøhvit undersea gas field. A new oil field was discovered in 2009 just off shore, close to the Snøhvit field.
There is optimism in the eastern part of the county, as the growing petroleum activity in the Barents Sea is expected to generate increased economic activity on land as well.
Some are prevalent and well adapted here, including Sclerotinia borealis and Typhula ishikariensis (especially T. i. group III). Both are plant pathogen of wheat, and S. b. also affects rye, barley, and some trees.
Until 2006, Statskog, the Norwegian state-owned agency responsible for the management of state owned forest and mountain real estate, owned about 95% of the land in Finnmark county. On 1 July 2006, the Finnmark Estate agency took over the ownership and management of that land in Finnmark. The Finnmark Estate was governed in tandem by the Finnmark County Municipality and the Sami Parliament of Norway. The Sami Parliament of Norway is based in the village of Karasjok.
The national government runs the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority which in turn owns and operates two in Finnmark, located in Kirkenes and Hammerfest.
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