Nordkapp

Nordkapp (North Cape; Davvinjárga or Nordkáhppa; Kappa or Nordkappa) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Honningsvåg, where most residents live. Other settlements in Nordkapp include the villages of Gjesvær, Kåfjord, Kamøyvær, Kjelvik, Nordvågen, Repvåg, Skarsvåg, and Valan. The municipality is the 127th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Nordkapp is the 228th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,947. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 8.7% over the previous 10-year period. Some 200,000 tourists visit Nordkapp annually during the two to three months of summer. The main tourist attractions are the North Cape and the nearby Knivskjellodden. The North Cape first became famous when the English explorer Richard Chancellor rounded it in 1553 while attempting to find a sea route through the Northeast Passage. Helnes Lighthouse is located at the entrance to the Porsangerfjorden. On 1 July 1861, the northern district of the municipality of Kistrand was separated to form the new municipality of Kjelvik. Initially, the municipality encompassed the land on both sides of the northern end of the Porsangerfjorden, including the eastern part of the island of Magerøya, and it had a population of 345. The name of the municipality was changed from Kjelvik to Nordkapp in 1950. On 1 January 1984, the western part of the island of Magerøya as well as the small surrounding islands of Gjesværstappan (population: 240) were transferred from Måsøy Municipality to Nordkapp Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Finnmark county. Nordkapp is a Norwegianized form of the English name North Cape by which the area was historically known dating back to at least 1553. The Old Norse name of the cape was Knyskanes. The municipality was originally named Kjelvik, after the main fishing village for the parish.