The Trollfjord or Trollfjorden is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

Hadsel Municipality Hadsel () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The long fjord cuts into the island of

Austvågøya Austvågøya is the northeasternmost and largest of the larger islands in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located between the Vestfjorden and the Norwegian Sea. The island of Vestvågøya lies to the southwest and the ...

and flows out into the

Raftsundet or is a strait in Nordland county, Norway. The long strait runs between the islands of Hinnøya and Austvågøya, mostly in Hadsel Municipality, but the southern end is in Vågan Municipality. The strait is crossed by the Raftsund Bridge near ...

strait. The fjord has a narrow entrance and steep-sided mountains surrounding it. The name is derived from

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

, a figure from

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

. The fjord is a popular

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

due to the beauty of its natural setting. It is only accessible by boat or by a nearby hike over very rugged terrain. The

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally, and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports ...

's ships on the route between

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

and

Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...

detour into Trollfjorden. It is also popular with other cruise lines.

Geography

The mouth of the Trollfjord where it joins the

is only wide. The

widens to a maximum width of . The mountains surrounding Trollfjord are between high. It is surrounded by the tall mountain Trolltindan to the south and the tall mountain Blåfjell and the tall mountain Litlkorsnestinden to the north. The Trollfjord reaches a maximum depth of below sea level. Prior to 1960, there was a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

at the end of Trollfjorden, but it was redirected to produce

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

at a nearby power station.

Controversy

The location of the fjord is a bit of a local controversy. In 2016, the movie Downsizing was filmed in the Trollfjord and it was advertised and discussed in the media as having been filmed in

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. T ...

, a traditional region of Norway. This, however, upset some in the neighboring traditional region of

Vesterålen Vesterålen ( , ; ) is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the a ...

who claim the fjord as part of their region as well. Both sides claim to be right. The fjord is located on

island (which is often considered part of Lofoten), but it is also in

(which is often considered part of Vesterålen).

History

The Battle of Trollfjord

''The Battle of Trollfjord'' () was fought in 1890 between the first industrial, steam-driven fishing ships and teams of traditional open-boat fishermen over access to the fjord. Johan Bojer described the battle in his 1921 novel ''The last of the Vikings'' (). A painting by Gunnar Berg, ''Trollfjordslaget'' depicts The Battle at Trollfjord. The painting is currently located in the Art Galleri Gunnar Berg on the island Svinøya in Svolvær town.

Sailing into the Mousehole

In 1969 the TS Avalon, a British Rail ferry/cruise ship, sailed into the Trollfjord, nicknamed the Mousehole by Capt William Bramhill, the ship's master. It then turned 180 degrees and came out. The captain said the experience meant he "nearly gave birth to kittens". On his 1971 cruise Bramhill was relieved not to have to repeat the feat – all vessels were barred because of the danger of falling snow, ice and rocks. The Norwegian pilot, the same man as in 1969, remarked that the Avalon had the distinction of being the largest vessel to enter the fjord. Avalon had a gross register tonnage of 6,584 and long; she carried 750 passengers in her role as a ferry but fewer on cruises. It is likely that the "largest ship" record is now held by the MS Otto Sverdrup hurtigruten.com
/ref> (formerly MS Finnmarken) which had a gross register tonnage of 15,690 and it was long.

Media gallery

Trollfjord Norway.jpg, View of the fjord Gunnar Berg Trollfjordslaget.jpg, ''Trollfjordslaget'' (The Battle at Trollfjord) by Gunnar Berg Lofoten Trollfjord 1975.jpg, Trollfjord near Raftsund Mind the gap Trollfjorden.jpg,

entering the fjord Waterfall in Trollfjorden.jpg, Waterfall on the sides of the fjord

References

{{authority control Fjords of Nordland Tourist attractions in Nordland Hadsel