Gamvik

 Gamvik  (Northern Sami: Gáŋgaviika) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mehamn. The other main villages in Gamvik include Gamvik and Skjånes. Gamvik is known as one of poorest and most undeveloped municipalities in Norway. Although number of inhabitants raised at one moment in 2012, after closing fish factory in 2014 number of inhabitants sunk dramatically after leaving of east European fishers.

Most people live in the village of Mehamn (about 500 inhabitants), which has an airport, Mehamn Airport, and is also a port of call of the hurtigruten coastal boats. The Slettnes Lighthouse near the village of Gamvik is the northernmost lighthouse on the mainland of Europe. Nervei and Langfjordbotn are two very small villages in southern Gamvik that are only accessible by boat. Finnkongkeila is an abandoned village along the Tanafjorden.

General information

The municipality of Gamvik was established on 1 January 1914 when the old Tana Municipality was divided into Tana, Berlevåg, and Gamvik. Initially, Gamvik had 1,371 inhabitants. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.

Gamvik (village)

Gamvik is a fishing village in Gamvik Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located on the northern shore of the Nordkinn Peninsula, along the Barents Sea. The village is the second largest settlement in Gamvik municipality, after Mehamn which is located about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to the west. Gamvik is home to the Gamvik Museum and Gamvik Church. The village is an old church site with churches located here since at least the 1850s.

The village was historically only accessible by boat, but due to the poor harbor conditions, the daily Hurtigruten steamers had to drop anchor a little way out from the shore and then smaller boats had to ferry people into the village. In the 1970s, Gamvik Airport was built and in the 1980s, Norwegian County Road 888 was built from Mehamn to Gamvik.

Slettnes Lighthouse is located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the village, and it is the northernmost mainland lighthouse in Norway. Slettnes nature reserve is also located north of the village and it is an important breeding ground for a large number of bird species, and it is home to the second largest colony of parasitic jaegers. The remains of the old Gamvik Airport as well as some ruins of World War II fortifications are found to the north of the village.