Svolvær

Svolvær, chief town and port of the Lofoten island group, northern Norway, and part of the municipality of Vågan (see also Kabelvåg). It is on the southern coast of Austvågøya, the easternmost island of the group. Svolvær’s economy depends almost entirely on cod fisheries. At the height of the fishing season (January–April), the town’s population swells by many thousands, as local fishermen are joined by others from farther south. The town’s industries, ancillary to fishing, include the processing of cod-liver oil and the production of fertilizer from fish viscera. Local shipyards build and repair fishing boats. The rugged and bleak countryside around Svolvær has attracted both tourists and artists, and the town has become something of an artists’ colony. Gunnar Berg (1863–93), a native of the Lofoten group, painted memorable scenes of the everyday life of the local fisherfolk; one of his best-known works hangs in Svolvær’s town hall. Pop. (2004 est.) 4,157.