County: Troms fylke.
Altitude: sea level. Population: 43,000.
Postal code: N-9000. Telephone code: 0 83.
Reisetrafikkforeningen for Tromso,
Tourist Information,
Kaiskur 1 (on passenger ships quay).
Main office, Parkgata 18; tel. 8 47 76.
HOTELS. SAS Royal Hotel, Sjgate 7, 373 Grand Nordic, Storgate 44, 283 Saga Hotel Bondeheimen, R. Withplass 2, 100 Tromsdal Gjestgiveri, in Tromsdal, 67 Prestvann Turistheim, Olastien 8, 140 b. (June to August only). YOUTH HOSTEL, R0dhettestien 7, 0vre Breivang (June to August only).
Narvik
CAMP SITE: Elvestrand, on Tromsdalselv (with chalets).
SPORTS and RECREATION. Fishing; boat rentals; riding; sightseeing flights.
The Norwegian port and commercial town of Tromso lies between Narvik and Hammerfest (lat. 69 39′ N), on a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge 1036 m (1100 yds) long and 43 m (140 ft) high. It was built to replace one destroyed in the Second World War. The town developed around a church founded in the 13th it received its municipal charter in 1794. Tromso is now the largest town in N Norway, the county town of Troms fylke, an important fishing port and the see of the Lutheran bishop of H&logaland. It has a university (founded in 1972), an observatory for the study of the aurora borealis and the weather station for N Norway. In 1944, the German battleship Tirpitz was sunk by British aircraft off the island of Kvaloya. Tromso has been, and still is, a base for expeditions to the Arctic (monument to Amundsen). Ships are outfitted for fishing in the Arctic Ocean here, and many fishing boats use the port as a base. The fast ships of the Hurtigrute from Bergen to Kirkenes and from Kirkenes to Bergen stop at Tromso every day, and in summer the cruises to Spitzbergen leave from here. Tromso is notable for its surprisingly rich growth of vegetation. In good weather, the midnight sun is visiblefrom 21 Mayto 23 July.
SIGHTS. On the mainland, just before the bridge, is the Tromsdalen Church, an interesting modern church (1975) known as the Cathedral of the Arctic, with a large stained-glass window 23 m (75 ft) high (area 140 sq. m 1500 sq. ft).
Near the W end of the bridge is the Skansen Municipal Museum (local history and traditions; Arctic section). To the W of the dock stands the wooden Cathedral (1861), capable of seating a congregation of 750.
From the Cathedral, Storgaten and Strand-vegen (on the left, the University) lead SW to the Tromso Museum, in a park 2 km (1i miles) from the middle ofthe town (excellent natural history and ethnographic collections, including a section on Lapp culture). Near the museum is its Aquarium.
To the W of the town is Elverhey Church (1802), the cathedral of Tromso from 1803 to 1861. It then stood on Prostnes and was moved to its present site in 1975. SURROUNDINGS. A cabin cableway (Fjellheisen) ascends to a height of 420 m (1380 ft); superb view; restaurant; good skiing up to mid-May. Boat trip to the islands and to Nord-Fugley, an island noted for its rich bird life. Day trip (200 km 125 miles) to the Lyngenfjord (186). 30 km (20 miles) S of Tromso, on the E coast of the island of Kvaley, is Hella; a number of houses from the old town of Tromso have been re-erected here.
