Tromsø, Norway

Tromsø is the largest urban area in Northern Norway, about 350 km (217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle.

The city is named after Tromsøya which is the island that it sits.  It is home to 73,500 people which includes more than 85,000 students who attend the world's northernmost university.



The city was issued its city charter in 1794.  However, the Tromsø area has been inhabited since the end of the ice age.  Archaeologists has discovered artefacts estimated to be 9,000 to 10,000 years old.

Around 11 AM

From around 26 November to 15 January the sun remains below the horizon which means that durning the polar night there is only a few hours of, often, bluish light.  Basically the opposite of the midnight sun that runs from around 18 May to 26 July where there's no real darkness.

The Tromsø Cathedral was built in 1861 and is in the middle of the city.  The Lutheran cathedral is the country's only wooden cathedral.

The Polar Museum opened in 1978.  It sits in an 1837 wharf house and highlights the city's history of Arctic hunting and exploration.

The Tromsø Bridge opened in 1960.  At 1.036 metres (3,399 feet) in length it was the longest bridge in Northern Europe when it opened.

The Cathedral of our Lady is the Catholic cathedral.  The small wooden church sits about 150 people and was consecrated in 1861. It is the most northern Catholic cathedral in the world.

The Arctic Cathedral isn't really a cathedral.  It is a Luthern parish church that was built in 1965.




Skansen is the oldest house in Tromsø.  It began as a customs station in 1789.  It has also served as housing, schools, a retirement home and as a city museum.



Polaria opened in 1998 and it is the world's most northernly aquarium.  The show with the bearded seals is well worth seeing.

The Polstjerna was one of the country's most famous, and most successful seal hunting ships.  Between 1949 and 1981 it killed almost 100,000 seals.

The Perspective Museum is in a house dating back to 1831.  It houses a permanent photo exhibition and various temporary displays about the city.



The music pavilion was built in 1891.

The Monument to the victims of the Holocaust from Tromsø was unveiled in 1951.

The public library was completed in 2005.  It shares space with the city archives.




The Kulturhuset is the city's primary performing arts centre.  The main stage hosts the Tromsø International Film Festival.