In the far north east of Norway, where the sky meets the sea lies Vadsø, glittering in summer's midnight sun and winter's northern lights. Arctic nature is at its best in Vadsø. The majority of the 6,200 inhabitants of this council area live in town, but some of them have remained in the other small communities. The largest of these is Vestre-Jakobselv, where many of the inhabitants have Finnish roots. The local council area skirts the Varanger fjord and many small communities, both "Norwegian" and "Finnish", are dotted around the area.
Vadsø offers many opportunities for fishing, hunting and hiking in an area of unspoilt natural beauty. The town itself covers a relatively small area, therefore it is easy to find the attractions: Vadsø Museum celebrates Finnish immigration, the Finnish language and Finnish culture. Exhibits include remains of fishing implements and two old town buildings that have survived despite the fact that the town was almost completely destroyed during the war. You will find the immigrant memorial by Finnish sculptor Ensio Seppänen in the town centre. The mooring mast of the airship “Norge”, that was used by Roald Amundsen in 1926 and Umberto Nobile in 1928 in their arctic expeditions, is also found here.
Traditionally, fishing has been the main industry here and as early as in the 16th century, Vadsø was a large fishing village. Today Vadsø is the seat of the county council for Finnmark and tertiary service industries have become more important than the primary industries.