Nordland, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
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Nordland; Lule Sami: Nordlánnda, Southern Sami: Nordlaante, Northern Sami: Nordlánda, English: Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean (Norwegian Sea) to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt.
The current county of Nordland was part of the petty kingdom of Hålogaland in the Viking era. This kingdom also included the southern part of Troms. |
Autumn near Trollfjord in Hadsel. Nordland is home to innumerable fjords and fjord branches
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Nordland is regarded as part of Sápmi. The Sami, which are not of Norse origins, have lived in Nordland for at least 2,000 years. Not just inland, but also along the fjords and, in the northern part of Nordland, even on the coast and larger islands, such as Hinnøya. There is a story in Heimskringla about a Viking which became a contender for the throne, Sigurd Slembe. He was on the run from the king, and was helped by Sami in what is probably Lødingen municipality today. The sami even built him a boat, which the saga mention was made from pine wood (viking ships were typically made from oak wood, but oak does not grow naturally this far north). Tysfjord today is a centre for the Lule Sami culture.
