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ALTA
Alta is the largest town in Finnmark county with its 18.000 inhabitants and some 2.000 students. Alta has a dry climate with sunny summers and plenty of snow in wintertime, and is well suited for people with outdoors and sports interests. Average January temperature -8,5° C, average July temperature 13,5° C. Average annual precipitation 400 mm, i.e. less than in Sahara! Alta covers an area of 3840 square kilometres.
Mining and slate quarrying, fishing and agriculture provided the economic foundation of the municipality, although today the service sector is the largest employer. Alta has developed into the natural centre of Western Finnmark and North Troms. A good communication network is an important factor for such a development. There are several flights to Oslo daily, and the flight time is less than two hours.
Alta is a culturally rich municipality. The college's 450-seat auditorium is often used for various cultural arrangements such as performances of plays, concerts and ballet. The auditorium is much used, for example during the Students' Week when there are student dramatic performances and rock shows.
Though much of student life is centred at the college, it's not more than a 5 minutes walk to Alta's new centre. Here you will find the shopping malls, the market place, cafés, restaurants and pubs.
Places of interest
- Salmon fishing in the Alta river is world famous. The river has a very special position with many anglers.
- Sautso; the largest canyon in Northern Europe.
- Alta Museum was voted European Museum of the Year in 1993. In just a few years it has become one of Northern Norway’s most visited tourist attractions. Rock carvings; visible signs of our forefathers are found in the museum park at Hjemmeluft, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- At the Haldde peak, 904 metres above the sea one can find the world’s first northern lights observatory.
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HAMMERFEST
Hammerfest is the world's northernmost town, with a population of 9000. The town celebrated its 200th annivesary on the 17th of July 1987. It Covers an area of 884 square kilometres. Fishing has always been important for the community and many workers are employed by the industry. Tourism is another important industry and 350,000 tourists visit the town each year. Finnmark's central hospital is located in Hammerfest. Communications are well developed with an airport, and daily boat and bus services.
Hammerfest is a modern town with a rich and varied cultural life. There are sports clubs, an alpine centre, a choir, and a brass band. The college at Hammerfest is located near the hospital, about a 15 minutes walk from the towncentre, with a regular bus service. Hammerfest has a charming town centre with many shops, cafés, pubs, and restaurants. During the latest years Hammerfest has grown quickly. This is mainly due to Statoil's building of the Snøhvit plant for extraction, liquefaction and export of natural gas at Melkøya - the largest-ever industrial development in northern Norway.
Places of interest
- Hammerfest Church; exciting architecture, the church has no altar piece and one of the front walls is a large intense stained-glass painting.
- Hammerfest Catholic Church, home of the world’s northernmost Catholic congregation.
- The Meridian Monument - erected to commemorate the first international committee to measure the size of the Earth in 1816.
- The Ancient and Royal Polar Bear Society; a museum featuring themes from Hammerfest’s time as the starting point for whaling and sealing expeditions to the Arctic.
- The Arctic Sea Gate; the meridians reach towards the north - crowned with Hammerfest’s coat of arms. The icebergs and polar bears show Hammerfest’s history as the gate to the Arctic.
More information
Visit NorthCape
Destination Alta
Finnmark Reiseliv
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