Honningsvaag at 70° 58' N, in Nordkapp municipality, claims to be the northernmost city in Norway and even in the world. Legislation effective from 1997 states that a Norwegian city must have 5,000 inhabitants, but Honningsvaag with its population of 2,575 was declared a city in 1996. It is situated at a bay on the southern side of Magerøya island, while the famous North Cape and its visitors center is on the northern side. It is a port of call for cruise ships, especially in the summer months. Honningsvaag Airport is located 4 km outside the town. People have lived in this area as far back as 10,300 years ago. The sea was probably the main food supplier for this prehistoric settlement. Indeed, the ice-free ocean (southwestern part of the Barents Sea) provides rich fisheries even today, and tourism is also important. And, due to the proximity of the temperate sea water, winter temperatures in Honningsvaag are much milder than one would expect at this latitude (January 24-hr average is -4°C). Even at 71°N, many private gardens in Honningsvaag have trees, although rarely more than 4 m tall. Honningsvaag is known to be a city with a happy social environment, especially in the summertime when almost 500 other Nordic people come from other places to work in Honningsvaag within the tourist industry.

Hurtigruten has one of its main stops in Honningsvaag on its lengthy route all over the Norwegian coast. From 11:45 am to 03:15 pm the ships dock in the port of Honningsvaag, generating heavy tourist activity in the city. The status of Honningsvaag as a city is a point of contention between the inhabitants of Honningsvaag and Hammerfest which many foreigners may find strange, given the small size of both of these places. In norwegian the word 'by' can mean both town and city and norwegian does not separate between the terms in the same way as english does. The translation of the word to english is thus ambiguous and can be chosen as one sees fit. If both Hammerfest and Honningsvaag where to be defined according to british tradition, neither of them would be considered cities, as neither has a university or a cathedral. Both of them would, however, be considered towns, given the status of both settlements as economic hubs of the surrounding areas and the status as municipal centers.

Wikipedia articles for Honningsvaag

• Honningsvåg
• Valan, Norway
• Nordvågen
• Nordvågen
• Nordvågen
• Northernmost cities and towns
• Porsangerfjorden
• Honningsvåg Tunnel
• Honningsvåg Airport, Valan