Fuglenes

You have now arrived in Fuglenes! From ancient times, this was an especially important strategic area when it came to transport and logistics in Hammerfest. Surrounded by the sea, it was a natural place to bunker, distribute goods, and establish an industrial area. Here, especially at the far end of the headland, which is known as Fuglenesodden, there was a view of the town centre, the islands and not least the powerful Finnmark mountains. Fuglenesodden was of course the natural place to locate Finnmark’s first lighthouse. A little further in on the headland you can find a burial place where the Sami said a final goodbye to their loved ones, and it was here that one of the most dramatic battles of the Napoleonic war took place. If you take a trip around the headland you can get to know some of the industries that were established here, and last but certainly not least visit Struve’s’ Meridian Arc, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. All of this you can experience through the comprehensive narration, pictures, and text as you approach the places of interest along the route.

The Russian astronomer and geodesist, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, was responsible for the extensive surveying work for the meridian arc. A geodesist is a person working with geodesy, the science of the earth's shape and size. The results showed that the length of a latitude is 359 metres shorter on the Black Sea than on the Finnmark coast, while the earth's radius was measured at 6 378 km and 361 metres, which only differs 224 metres from today's GPS measurements. The Meridian column was designed by Wilhelm von Hanno and erected in 1854. Amongst other things, he is known for being the originator of the world's oldest stamp motif in continuous use; the ‘posthornet’ and for designing Grønland Church and the Trinity Church in Oslo.

The buildings that you see here were originally located on Melkøya, but they were moved here when Equinor established their LNG plant there. The island once housed several families, a farm, and a fish farm. The white house was constructed on Melkøya after the Second World War and was intended to be used as a temporary barrack house with a large kitchen, small living area, storerooms, and bedrooms. It was usual to live in such barrack houses after the Second World War. Eventually, most of the barrack houses here in Finnmark were replaced with new houses, but not this house. The house is decorated in keeping with that time, so that visitors can get a feel of how people lived in the reconstruction years after the war. Below you can see the red boathouse as well as an outdoor toilet and an oil house. The boathouse is also well preserved, and there you can still see everything they needed to operate and maintain the fishing and processing facilities. Every small detail is taken care of to illustrate the daily tasks that would have needed doing, such as collecting firewood, preparing food, carrying water, and maintaining both the houses and the utensils. For more information and possible guided tours, check out the link below to the Museum of Reconstruction for Finnmark and Nord-Troms:

In Hammerfest, the court books tell us the following: Between 1621 and 1685, one woman and two men were sentenced to death by burning. And they were probably executed here where we are now standing, at Skansen. Old notes indicate that this place was once called ‘Galgenes’ and was seen as a suitable place for burning witches. It was not too close to the settlement, but still close enough for spectators to watch, and then spread the word about the brutal consequences of such a judgement. The three people were convicted on the following grounds: Ingrj from Lerretsfjord, was convicted because people said she had bewitched, or cast a spell on several people. Raste from Klubben was convicted because some believed he could place spirits into animals and drive them crazy. The last, Find from Hellefjord on Sørøya, was convicted because he is said to have had close contact with the devil himself, and thus could cast evil on to people.