Sørøya ( sme, Sállan) is Norway's fourth largest island in terms of area. The island is divided between

Hasvik Municipality Hasvik ( sme, Ákŋoluovtta gielda; fkv, Hasviikan komuuni) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Breivikbotn ...

and Hammerfest Municipality. It is often claimed to be "one of the most beautiful" of the islands in Norway. In 2018, the population of the island was 1,100. Hespervika, Sørøya, Nórsko, 2013

The island is very rocky and mountainous. The highest point on the island is the tall mountain

Komagaksla Komagaksla (or ''Vatnafjellet'') is the highest mountain on the island of Sørøya in Hammerfest Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The tall mountain sits along the southern shore of the island, along the Sørøysundet Sørøysun ...

on the southern shore of the island. The coastline is very jagged and has numerous fjords that cut inland from the open ocean. The island is surrounded by the Norwegian Sea on the north and the Sørøysundet strait to the south. Across the Sørøysundet to the south are three large islands: Stjernøya,

Seiland Seiland ( sme, Sievju) is the eighth largest island in mainland Norway, located in Troms og Finnmark county. The island is divided between the municipalities of Alta and Hammerfest Archeological excavations have shown that people have lived ...

and Kvaløya. The island of Sørøya has no bridge or tunnel access, only a regular ferry route from the village of Hasvik to the village of

Øksfjord Øksfjord ( sme, Ákšovuotna) is a village in Norway. Øksfjord is visited by the coastal service Hurtigruten boat daily, stopping here between stops at Skjervøy and Hammerfest. Since most of Loppa municipality is inaccessible by car, Øksfjord ...

on the mainland. Hasvik Airport is located on the southern tip of the island. Most settlements on the island are along the southwestern shore in Hasvik, but there are scattered settlements in other areas of the island as well. The northeastern part of the island in Hammerfest has some settlements as well with some roads, but the roads are not all connected to each other. There is no upper secondary school on the island.

World War II

During World War II, a guerrilla group operated on the island, fighting against the occupying German forces. On 15 February 1945, less than three months before the

end of World War II in Europe The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf H ...

, 525 Norwegian civilians were evacuated from Sørøya by four British Royal Navy

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s and brought to safety in Scotland via Murmansk in the Soviet Union. The rescue operation was code named ''Operation Open Door''. Later in February and March, fighting between Norwegian volunteers and German soldiers resulted in six dead Norwegians and fourteen captured, while between 30 and 100 German soldiers were killed.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Soeroeya Islands of Troms og Finnmark Hammerfest Hasvik