Norwegen / Nordland - Helgelandskysten
The Seven Sisters seen from Offersoy Camping in Tjøtta
Die Sieben Schwestern gesehen vom Offersoy Camping in Tjøtta
Helgeland is the most southerly district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet mountains and Svartisen glacier, which form a natural border with the Salten district. In the south, Helgeland borders Trøndelag county.
The district covers an area of about 18,832 square kilometres (7,271 sq mi), with nearly 79,000 inhabitants. There are four towns in the district: from south to north these are Brønnøysund, Mosjøen, Sandnessjøen, and Mo i Rana.
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was Hálogaland (see Hålogaland).
Geography
Helgeland is commonly divided into three or four sections:
Southern Helgeland (actually southwest), which consists of the municipalities Bindal, Sømna, Brønnøy, Vega and Vevelstad.
Central Helgeland, which is sometimes further divided into the regions:
Inner Helgeland, which consists of the municipalities Grane, Hattfjelldal and Vefsn.
Outer Helgeland, which consists of the municipalities Leirfjord, Alstahaug, Herøy and Dønna.
Northern Helgeland, which consists of the municipalities Hemnes, Rana, Nesna, Lurøy, Træna and Rødøy.
Helgeland is characterized by pointed mountains and Strandflaten, a shallow lowland area, sometimes just above the sea surface, and sometimes just below the surface. People living on the coast have settled on this lowland (while inland towns, such as Mo and Mosjøen, are situated in valleys). A consequence of the Strandflaten is thousands of islands, and shallow waters going far into the sea. This has provided some shelter from stormy weather, which might occur in winter. Some islands are fairly large, often with unique mountains, such as Torghatten, De syv søstre (The Seven Sisters), Hestmannen, Rødøyløva (in Rødøy), Dønnamannen (picture), and Træna. There are several sea bird colonies, such as Lovund with thousands of puffins. The Solvær Islands (Solværøyene) in Lurøy consists of about 300 small and flat islands and has the highest densities of Eurasian eagle-owls in Europe.
The highest mountains, are located inland, where Oksskolten is the highest mountain in Northern Norway. There are many valleys inland, such as the Dunderland Valley, Vefsndalen, and Hattfjelldal. Røssvatnet is the second largest lake in Norway. There are three large national parks in Helgeland: Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park (partly), Børgefjell National Park (partly), and Lomsdal–Visten National Park (created in May 2009).
Cultural references
Helgeland is the scene for Henrik Ibsen's 1857 historical play "The Vikings at Helgeland" (Hærmændene paa Helgeland), whose plot takes place at this region during the time of Erik Blood-axe (c. 930–934).
Helgeland Kammerkor, a mixed choir with members from all parts of Helgeland, have recorded an album of folk music from Helgeland (Folketoner fra Helgeland, 2005). The album contains 27 folk tunes from Helgeland, recorded in collaboration with folk musicians from the area. The album was recorded in Alstahaug Church, a 900-year-old stone church located near Sandnessjøen.
(Wikipedia)
Tjøtta is an island in Alstahaug Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 11.3-square-kilometre (4.4 sq mi) island lies at the entrance to the Vefsnfjorden, just south of the island of Alsta. The U-shaped island is relatively flat, and the highest point is the 77-metre (253 ft) tall Kalvberghaugen, just east of the village of Tjøtta. The island has two main villages on it: Tjøtta and Svinnes. The Norwegian County Road 17 crosses the island and it connects it to the neighboring islands of Offersøya and Alsta by two causeways.
History
Tjøtta has one of the largest and oldest Iron Age farms in Northern Norway, and hardly any places in the region have this many historical relics preserved in one limited area. The chief Hårek of Tjøtta was from here. He was known in the stories of Snorre Sturlason as the governor of Hålogaland.
Gullhaugen
Gullhaugen is located on Tjøtta. The name comes from the Old Norse word haugr meaning hill or mound. Gullhaugen is the site of a large burial mound consisting of over 30 mounds, 5 large round mounds, several elongated mounds, 2 large burial cairns, several stone rings, and a large number of smaller round mounds. The largest mound is about 25 metres (82 ft) across and about 2 to 3 metres (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) high. All the mounds in this part of the cemetery has been dated back to the Iron Age.
War Cemeteries
There are two war cemeteries: Tjøtta Russian War Cemetery from 1953 and Tjøtta International War Cemetery from 1970 with the remains of the victims of Rigel sunk in 1944.
(Wikipedia)
Helgeland (im Mittelalter Hålogaland) ist eine Landschaft im Norden Norwegens, die heute den südlichen Teil des Fylkes Nordland bis zum Saltfjellet umfasst. Die Region hat 78.400 Einwohner und eine Fläche von 17.936 km². Die Region hat ungefähr 15.000 Inseln.
Im Mittelalter bezeichnete Hålogaland das gesamte Territorium nördlich von Trøndelag und war vor der Christianisierung Norwegens ein selbständiges Königreich, das auch den größten Teil von Troms umfasste und sich zeitweilig bis in das von Samen dominierte Gebiet (Finnmark, Schwedisch-Lappland, Nord-Finnland und Nordwest-Russland) erstreckte. Hålogaland nimmt einen hervorragenden Platz in den Sagas ein. Die Göttinnen Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr und Irpa der Jómsvíkinga saga stammen wahrscheinlich aus Hálogaland und wurden wohl vor allem dort verehrt. Der vermutlich bekannteste Einwohner Hålogalands war der Seefahrer und Kaufmann Ottar, dessen Bericht über seine Heimat einen Platz in Alfreds des Großen Übersetzung der Weltgeschichte des Orosius fand.
Der Name stammt nicht von derselben Wurzel wie heilig, wie es schon Adam von Bremen behauptete, sondern von einer Volksbezeichnung háleygir. In Snorri Sturlusons Jüngerer Edda wird er von einem mythischen König Holgi abgeleitet. Holgi wiederum soll ein Nachfolger von Odins Sohn Sæming (Säming) gewesen sein.
Die jüngere Form des Namens findet sich ab 1380, die ältere besteht weiter in den Namen der Bistümer Sør-Hålogaland (Nordland) und Nord-Hålogaland (Troms und Finnmark) und im Namen des Obergerichtes (Hålogaland lagmannsrett), das für die drei nördlichen Provinzen Nordland, Troms und Finnmark sowie für Spitzbergen zuständig ist.
In Helgeland befand sich bei Bratland und der Insel Aldra ein Sender des Omega-Funknavigationssystems. In der Nähe von Bratland befindet sich auch der Marinesender JXN, der wie einst der Omegasender eine Drahtantenne verwendet, die über einen Fjord gespannt wurde.
(Wikipedia)
Tjøtta ist eine Insel in der Kommune Alstahaug an der norwegischen Helgelandsküste. Auf der Insel leben 214 Einwohner (Stand 2020), die meisten davon im Hauptort, der ebenfalls Tjøtta heißt. Die Stadt Sandnessjøen, das Zentrum der Kommune, liegt etwa 40 Kilometer nordöstlich von Tjøtta.
Tjøtta hat eine hohe historische Bedeutung. Viele Norweger kennen Øyvind Skaldespiller und seinen Sohn, Hårek, die aus Tjøtta stammen. Hårek hat 1030 die Stiklestadschlacht mit geschlagen.
Auf der Insel befinden sich die Russische Kriegsgräberstätte Tjøtta (1953) und die Internationale Kriegsgräberstätte Tjøtta (1970).
(Wikipedia)
