Unesco

UNESCO has selected Brønnøysund and the surrounding region as one of the most valuable coastal landscapes in the world. This is no coincidence. Here you find a unique meeting between nature, history, and lived coastal culture—so distinctive that the international community believes it must be preserved for the future. Out at the edge of the sea lie the Vega Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For over a thousand years, people here have practiced eider farming, a gentle tradition in which small houses are built for the eider ducks, and the soft down is collected only after the birds have left their nests. UNESCO highlights this practice as a rare example of sustainable interaction between humans and nature. Brønnøysund is also part of the Trollfjell UNESCO Global Geopark, an area that shows how ice ages, volcanic processes, and the movements of the seafloor have shaped this landscape over tens of thousands of years. Here you can find mountains that resemble trolls, ancient ocean floors, and geology that tells the story of our planet. At the heart of this landscape rises Torghatten, one of Norway’s most iconic mountains. The famous hole cutting straight through the rock makes it a natural focal point—both in the geopark and in local legends. It has fascinated people for generations, and there is a very special story about how that hole came to be.