Place:Storfjord, Troms, Norway

source: Family History Library Catalog

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Storfjord is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hatteng. Other villages in Storfjord include Elvevoll, Oteren, and Skibotn.

The municipality is the 54th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Storfjord is the 290th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,829. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3.1% over the previous 10-year period.

History

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The Sami culture is the original culture; however, in the 19th century, settlers came from Finland and from the valleys of Southern Norway to establish themselves. Sami culture, though, has survived in parts of Storfjord to the present. In the 19th century, Laestadianism, a puritan religious movement, obtained a strong position. Skibotn is even today a stronghold for this movement.

The market of Skibotn was traditionally a meeting point between ethnic groups, where Sami, Finns, and Norwegians met to trade. This market still takes place today. The ethnic mix is interesting, with both Sami and Finnish cultures represented. In the valley of Signaldalen, a Norwegian dialect of southern origin is spoken, a relic of the valley's settlement from the south in the early 19th century.

World War Two

There were several prison camps there during World War Two. A 2014 NRK article estimated that a total of around 7000 or 8000 Soviet prisoners, were interred in these prison camps.^[1] Furthermore, the Mallnitz Camp was the worst.^[1]

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