Narvik

The coat of arms was adopted on 20 June 2019 for use starting in 2020. The arms are blue with a white image of the mountain Stetind. The arms were designed by Eirik Djupvik.[9]

The old arms were granted on 1 June 1951. The arms showed a gold-coloured anchor on a red background. The anchor symbolises Narvik's status as an important port (the largest harbour in North Norway).[10]

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  Current arms since 2020
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  Arms (1951-2019)

Narvik is named after the old Narvik farm ("Narduigh" – 1567), since the town is built on its ground.[11]

The Old Norse form of the port was probably *Knarravík, The first element is the genitive pluralis of knarr 'merchant ship' – the last element is vík 'inlet'. The name Knarravík (modern forms Knarvik or Narvik) is found several places along the Norwegian coast (and three places in the old Norwegian province of Bohuslän), and it refers to good, natural ports.

The port was once called Victoriahavn after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, however Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria was also honoured.[12]

Iron ore is extracted in Kiruna and Malmberget, and brought by rail to the harbours of Luleå and Narvik.
(Borders as of 1920–1940.)

Narvik burning after German bombing, 2. June 1940

Narvik 1928 with the fjord Rombaken as backdrop

The port of Narvik proved to be strategically valuable in the early years of World War II and the town became a focal point of the Norwegian Campaign. In 1939, Germany's war industry depended upon iron ore mined in Kiruna and Malmberget in Sweden. During the summer season, this ore could be sent by cargo ship to Germany through the Baltic Sea via the Swedish port of Luleå on the Gulf of Bothnia. However, when the Gulf of Bothnia froze during the winter, more shipments of the ore needed to be transported through Narvik and, from there, down the west coast of Norway to Germany. The town of Narvik is linked by rail to Sweden, but not to any other towns in Norway. As a result, Narvik serves as a gateway to the ore fields of Sweden that cannot be easily reached from southern Norway via land. Winston Churchill realized that the control of Narvik meant stopping most German imports of iron ore during the winter of 1940. This would be advantageous to the Allies, and it might help shorten the war. Equally as important, later in the war, German submarines and warships based there threatened the allied supply line to the Soviet Union.[14]

Churchill proposed laying a naval minefield in Norwegian territorial waters around Narvik (referred to as "the Leads"),[14] or else occupying the town with Allied troops. The Allies hoped that they might be able to use an occupied Narvik as a base from which to secure the Swedish ore fields and/or to send supplies and reinforcements to Finland, then fighting the Finnish Winter War with the Soviet Union. Plans to lay a minefield around Narvik or to seize the town met with debate within the British government – since both plans would mean a violation of Norway's neutrality and sovereignty.[14]

Finally, on 8 April 1940, the British Admiralty launched Operation Wilfred, an attempt to lay anti-shipping minefields around Narvik in Norwegian territorial waters. Coincidentally, Germany launched its invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung) on the next day. During this invasion, ten German destroyers, each carrying 200 mountain infantry soldiers, were sent to Narvik. The outdated Norwegian coastal defence ships HNoMS Eidsvold and HNoMS Norge attempted to resist the invasion, but both Norwegian warships were sunk after a short and uneven battle. The Royal Navy quickly dispatched several ships to Narvik, including the battleship HMS Warspite, and during the Battles of Narvik, the British took control of the coast, destroying the German destroyers that had brought the invasion force to Narvik, as well as other German ships in the area.

On 12 April 1940, the first convoys of Allied soldiers were sent under Major-General Pierse Joseph Mackesy to Narvik. The Admiralty urged Mackesy to conduct an assault on Narvik from the sea as soon as possible. However, Mackesy believed that the German harbour defences were too strong for such an invasion to take place. The Admiralty argued that a naval bombardment of Norway would enable the troops to land safely, but General Mackesy refused to subject Norwegian citizens to such a bombardment, and instead he chose to land his troops near Narvik and wait until the snow melted to take over the town.[14]

Coordinated by the Norwegian General Carl Gustav Fleischer, Norwegian, French, Polish, and British forces recaptured Narvik on 28 May 1940. This is also considered the first Allied infantry victory in World War II. However, by that time, the Allies were losing the Battle of France and the evacuation from Dunkirk was underway. Since the Nazi German invasion of France had made Scandinavia largely irrelevant, and since the valuable troops assigned to Narvik were badly needed elsewhere, the Allies withdrew from Narvik on 8 June 1940 in Operation Alphabet. The same day, while operating in the Narvik area, the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sank the British aircraft carrier HMS Glorious during the withdrawal from this battle.[15] Without support from the Allied naval task force, the Norwegians were outnumbered, and they had to lay down their arms in Norway on 10 June 1940. This was not a complete capitulation, since the Norwegians kept on fighting guerrilla operations inland.

Possession of the Ofotfjord was also important to the German Kriegsmarine (navy) since it provided a refuge for warships like the "pocket battleship" Lützow and the battleship Tirpitz outside the range (at the time) of air attacks from Scotland. Also, possibly U-boats could be based at Narvik.

Narvik features a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfc) with mild winters for this climate type, or a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), depending on winter threshold (0C or -3C). It is also close to a humid continental climate due to a mild September. As Narvik is situated 220 kilometres (140 mi) inside the arctic circle, the climate is extremely mild for the high latitude. The mountains surrounding the town give shelter from some of the strong winds typical for coastal areas, but the easterlies can be strong with especially strong wind gusts.

In early May, there is still a large amount of snow in the mountains, as seen here in Rombaken.

The light varies considerably in Narvik since the sun is below the horizon from late November until mid-January; when there is only a bluish light for a few hours around noon.[35] The mountains surrounding the town in reality extend this period from early November until the end of January. The light is often intense in March and April, with long daylight hours and snow cover since the snow melts in lowland areas in April, but stays in the mountains for several months. The "midnight sun" is above the horizon from 25 May to 20 July (57 days), and the period with continuous daylight lasts a bit longer, from approximately 10 May to the end of July, polar night from 5 December to 6 January (33 days). There is also a transitional period with twilight in the night, so it is not possible to see any stars at night from the last days of April until early August. The all-time high was set July 9 2014, and the all-time low was recorded on 1 February 1980.

Rallarveien; hiking route near the railway from the mountains down to the Rombaken fjord

Narvik has access to numerous outdoor activities. This is the best known location in northern Norway for alpine skiing.[39]

Museum Nord - Narvik

There are lifts, and several of the slopes are floodlit. There is also a cable car to Fagernesfjellet, with a view and the possibility to walk even higher up in the mountains. Narvik Winter Festival (Norwegian: Vinterfestuka) takes place in early March. Mountain hiking is very popular in the area, and the mountain area near the Swedish border has several places of accommodation. A signed mountain bike route is also available. Wreck diving attracts divers to Narvik, as there are a lot of wrecks in or near the harbour, and more spread out in the fjord. Fishing in the fjord or in lakes and streams is a popular leisure activity. There are salmon rivers in Skjomen, Beisfjord and Bjerkvik.

The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Narvik. It is part of the Ofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

• Per Willy Guttormsen (born 1942) a former speed skater, competed in the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics
• Thomas Hafstad (born 1974) a retired Norwegian footballer, 239 games for Tromsø IL
• Ragnhild Gulbrandsen (born 1977) a journalist and former football striker with 80 caps for Norway
• Marit Røsberg Jacobsen (born 1994) a Norwegian handball player