Towns and places
Earlier specific formalities was required to get approved as a town, while now this is a descision done by each municipality. 
Another example is Åndalsnes in Møre og Romsdal. Thousands and thousands of tourists are visiting this little town during summer, as Åndalsnes has a very popular Cruise Ship Harbour. From here the passengers go on excursions to Trollstigen, Geiranger or Ålesund. Åndalsnes was approved as a town in 1996, is presenting itself as ”The Alp City by the Fjord”, and has 2.171 inhabitants. The town has a railroad station, with daily departures and arrivals to and from Trondheim / Bodø and Oslo.But also traditionally, the towns of Norway has been small. One of the oldest ones, Vardø in Finnmark county, was established in 1789, and has only 1.930 inhabitants. This is one of the many towns you will see if you are going on a round trip with the Hurtigruten. CountiesNorway is divided into 19 counties:Akershus, Oslo, Buskerud, Oppland, Hedmark, Vestfold, Østfold, Telemark, Vest-Agder, Aust-Agder, Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Møre og Romsdal, Sør-Trøndelag, Nord-Trøndelag, Nordland, Troms and Finnmark.Each county is divided into municipalities, small ones and big ones. As the only one, Oslo is both a county, a municipality and a city. Most of the Norwegian population are living in the cities, and mostly in the South-Eastern part of Norway.However, the main income to the country is coming from fishery and the oil industry, which brings us to the Coastal Norway. Coastal Norway
The Norwegian coastline is 2532 kilometers long, without counting in the fjords and bays along. There are of course thousand of small and bigger communities within these kilometers.The big ones are Stavanger, Bergen, Ålesund, Trondheim, Bodø and Tromsø. Stavanger is considered the ”Oil City” of Norway, but also the harbour of Mongstad, close to Bergen, is a main harbour for the many off-shore vessels supplying the oil industry/oil rigs. 
One of the most beautiful Norwegian cities is Ålesund, rebuild after a huge city-fire in 1904, that totally destroyed the town. By help from the German emperor Wilhelm II, Ålesund raised from the ashes in an amazing Jugend style, with no equals in any Norwegian city. With it’s many canals, Ålesund is also called the Norwegian Venice.Coastal communities are small, often originally established on fishing. A huge number of small communities has been abandoned over the years. Some as a natural result of one family after the other leaving the place, and some places as a result of the governments policy in the 60's by paying people to leave in these places in order to establish bigger communities.Ålesund is situated in Møre and Romsdal county, and here we also find two more cities:Molde and Kristiansund. Small, coastal communities
A typical coastal community is Bud in Møre og Romsdal county. A beautiful little village that earlier was a fishing village. Today Bud has traces of the past, but fishery is no longer the most important income among people. What made it so important is the sheltered harbour, and that it is close to the big ocean.During the WWII the Germans build a fortress in the centre of Bud, and this is now restored and open to the public. 
Another coastal pearl is tiny little Indre Kvarøy, an island in Nordland county.With a population of not more than 60 persons, you would believe a small community like this could not survive.But take a look at our presentation, and see how these few people has build a strong community, with grocery store, school, kindergarden, a pub, a restaurant, a community house, a factory making stairs for customers all over Norway, and a strong business of Salmon Farm and fish products industry.You must see it to believe it. Inland NorwayThe Inland cities are not many, but Lillehammer, Gjøvik and Hamar, situated at the shores of Lake Mjøsa is probably the most omportant ones.All these towns was parts of arranging the Olympic Winter Games in 1994, and the arenas from ’94 still has great value for these towns when it comes to attract tourists. Another amazing and very special town is Røros in Sør-Trøndelag county. A mining town with traditions way back in Norwegian history.
Sami communities
The Sami population has their own flag (see image). Some of the most unique Norwegian places is the Sami villages Karasjok and Kautokeino in Finnmark county.The climate in the Finnmarksvidda is drier than the coastal climate, and the winter temperature can get very low. The lowest temperature ever measured in Norway is Karasjok with −51,4°C in 1886. The highest temperature in Karasjok is 32,4°C.Karasjok, in Sami writing Kárášjohka, is also a municipality, and the village Karasjok is the administrative centre of the municipality.Kautokeino, or Guovdageaidnu in Sami language , is another important Sami community, and is both a municipality and a village. About 2000 of the total population are living in the village. The village is in the middle of the Arctic Highlands, and has quite unique climate, with just a few weeks of summer with sun 24 hours a day, and then 6 long weeks of cold, snowy winters, when the sun is totally hidden under the horizon.Kautokeino is the largest municipality in Norway when it comes to area, with 9.708 km2 , and reindeer herding is very important in this district. The official languages are Sami and bokmål.Kautokeino and Karasjok are the two most important Sami cultural centres in Norway. Bigger townsOslo, Bodø, Smaller townsLillehammer,Small towns and placesMåløy,Bud, OtherLofoten region,Back from Towns and Places to Facts about Norway |
Norwegian towns are small both in European and International measure.
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