PLEASE NOTE: We no longer offer expedition cruises in Northern Norway. Please see our numerous other voyages that operate in the Arctic and Antarctica.
Burfjord, capital of the Kvænangen region
With a population of barely over 400 people, Burfjord is characteristic of the quaint fishing villages for which Northern Norway is known. As its name suggests, Burfjord lies along the fjord of Burfjorden, part of the Kvænangen fjord. It is about 50 km (31 miles) west of Alta, the most populated town in Finnmark County, and like Alta, features a number of Saami craft shops.
History and culture of Burfjord
Until about 1500, the Kvænangen region in which Burfjord is located was almost exclusively made up of indigenous Saami. Abandoning their traditional reindeer-herding nomadism, these Saami took up fishing and farming as sjøsame, or “sea Saami.” In the early 1700s, Burfjord and surrounding areas became inhabited also by Norwegians from the south and Finnish Kvens from the east.