Harstad

Harstad lies on the north-east side of Hinnøya, the biggest island along the Norwegian coast, looking out over Vågsfjorden. The centre is built around the harbour, with the Hurtigruten quay, big yellow wharf buildings and a fountain out in the water, and the houses climb the wooded hills behind. With about 21.642 people it's the second town of Troms after Tromsø.

The armed forces have been here for more than a century, and the Navy's Coastal Ranger Command has been at Trondenes since 2005. The oil companies came in the 1980s, the hospital serves all of Sør-Troms, and around midsummer the town fills up for the True Northern Arts Festival, held here since 1965. The midnight sun shines from about 23 May to 21 July, and the polar night is short here, roughly 3 December to 9 January.

Local knowledge: in North Sámi the town is Hárstták. Harstad was a farm, probably Old Norse Harðarstaðir, "Hǫrðr's farm". As late as 1872 there were three houses here. But rich herring catches in Vågsfjorden from around 1870 had started something, and it went fast. In 1888 Harstad got the first steamship quay in Northern Norway, the yearly trade fairs started the same year, and by 1890 there were more than 80 houses and some 540 people. A shipyard followed in 1895, the army made Harstad its headquarters for Northern Norway in 1899, and on 1 January 1904 it became a town, a ladested, with 1.246 inhabitants. Rikard Kaarbø, the shipyard man, is counted as its founder.

Born here: Hans Egede (1686–1758) was born on the Harstad farm, son of the district judge, and baptised in Trondenes church. As a priest he went to Greenland as the first missionary among the Inuit, stayed for 15 years and founded Godthåb, today Nuuk. He is still called the Apostle of Greenland.

Visiting: the pin is on Torvet, the square in the centre, close to the harbour. From there, drive a short way north to Trondenes, an old chieftain's seat. Its stone church was finished around 1440 and is counted as the northernmost medieval church in the world, with three late medieval altarpieces from Lübeck and parts of a defensive wall with towers. Up on the peninsula is the Adolf Gun, one of four 40,6 cm guns the Germans set up at Trondenes fort from 1942, with barrels almost 20 metres long. Much of the work was done by prisoners of war, many of them Soviet. The fort is inside an active military camp, so you can only go with a guided tour booked in advance, and you need photo ID. On a rainy day, Grottebadet, a water park inside the mountain, is a few minutes' walk from the square.

Fact sheet

• Other official names: Hárstták (North Sámi)
• People: 21.642 in Harstad, 25.204 in Harstad municipality
• County: Troms
• Town since: 1904 (as a loading place)
• Typical industries: the armed forces and public offices, car sales and repair, buses and road transport
• Midnight sun: 23 May – 21 July
• Polar night: 3 December – 9 January

Population on 1 January 2026, from Statistics Norway. Typical industries are the ones with a much bigger share of the jobs here than in Norway as a whole (Statistics Norway, 2025).