Berlevåg
Encyclopedia
is a municipality
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...

 county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Berlevåg. Berlevåg was separated from the municipality of Tana to form a municipality of its own on 1 July 1913.

The municipality is situated in the northern part of the Varanger Peninsula
Varanger Peninsula
Varanger Peninsula is a peninsula in Finnmark, north-eastern Norway, by the Barents Sea. The peninsula has the Tanafjord to the west, the Varangerfjord to the south and the Barents Sea to the north and east. Vadsø, Båtsfjord, Berlevåg, Vardø and Unjárga - Nesseby are the municipalities sharing the...

, facing the open Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

. There are two settlements in the municipality of Berlevåg: the village of Berlevåg and the village of Kongsfjord (with approximately 45 inhabitants).

Name

The meaning of the first element is derived from the Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...

 word perle which means "pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...

" and the last element is våg which means "bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted on 22 July 1988. The arms show a rayonny
Line (heraldry)
The lines of partition used to divide and vary fields and charges in heraldry are by default straight, but may have many different shapes. Care must sometimes be taken to distinguish these types of lines from the extremely unusual and non-traditional use of lines as charges, and to distinguish...

 of five wave
Wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...

s with yellow over blue. It is meant to symbolize the waves that break against the shore, which can represent both the struggle against the sea as well as the dependence on it.

Geography

Berlevåg Airport
Berlevåg Airport
Berlevåg Airport is a regional airport serving Berlevåg in Finnmark, Norway. In 2005 Berlevåg Airport had 4,264 passengers. It is operated by Avinor.-Service:...

 is located just outside Berlevåg. Berlevåg has a road connection to the main road network.

Facing rough conditions, assembled breakwaters
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...

 have been destroyed several times due to bad weather. Tetrapods
Tetrapod (structure)
In coastal engineering, a Tetrapod is a four-legged concrete structure used as armour unit on breakwaters. The Tetrapod's shape is designed to dissipate the force of incoming waves by allowing water to flow around rather than against it, and to reduce displacement by allowing a random distribution...

 that intertwine have made for a flexible breakwater that can resist the Barents Sea. The port was secured with breakwaters in 1973. Since then, the Coastal Ferry
Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten or Hurtigruta is a Norwegian passenger and freight line with daily sailings along Norway's western and northern coast. Sometimes referred to in English as Norwegian Coastal Express, Hurtigruten ships sail almost the entire length of the country, completing the roundtrip journey in 11...

 has been able to dock in Berlevåg. Earlier a smaller vessel had to unload cargo and passengers from it in the open sea. The municipality also contains the lake Geatnjajávri
Geatnjajávri
Geatnjajávri is a lake in the municipality of Berlevåg in Finnmark county, Norway....

.

Climate

Berlevåg's coastal location serves to moderate temperatures during winter, receiving heat from the Gulf stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...

. Temperatures during winter rarely pass below -15 C, while maximum temperatures during summer are usually around 13 °C (55 °F).

Birdlife

The sea and the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

s along this part of Finnmark's coastline are home for thousands of seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

s. As well as the large seabird colonies with thousands of nesting birds, there are also areas of unspoiled nature consisting of mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

s, moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...

s, and marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

es. This enables birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...

 in a natural environment.

World War II

Berlevåg, along with the rest of Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...

, was occupied during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Berlevåg Airport
Berlevåg Airport
Berlevåg Airport is a regional airport serving Berlevåg in Finnmark, Norway. In 2005 Berlevåg Airport had 4,264 passengers. It is operated by Avinor.-Service:...

 was originally put into use at this time, when German occupant forces
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...

 constructed it by the help of hundreds of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

. From 1943-1944, there were nearly daily bombing raids
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...

 from Russia on Berlevåg and the German airfield.

In November 1944, the village was completely burned down and the inhabitants evacuated by force as part of the scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...

 strategy of the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. In the aftermath, the Norwegian government wanted to relocate the inhabitants to nearby Kongsfjord because of a better harbour, but they refused, and the village was rebuilt. As there are absolutely no trees in Berlevåg, many of the houses in Berlevåg were built by the help of the wooden planks in the "tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...

" of the previous German airfield.

Popular culture

Berlevåg was brought some fame in Norway when the Norwegian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 Knut Erik Jensen
Knut Erik Jensen
Knut Erik Jensen is a Norwegian film director, best known for his documentary Cool and Crazy. After studying French, Russian and history, he attended the London Film School. In 1978, he joined the staff of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation , and has since then made documentaries and short...

 made a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 about Berlevåg Mannsangsforening, Berlevåg's men's choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

. The movie Heftig og begeistret ("Cool and Crazy") was a big hit 2001 in Norway, first shown at Tromsø International Film Festival
Tromsø International Film Festival
The Tromsø International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Tromsø, Norway.The inaugural Tromsø International Film Festival was held in 1991, and today TIFF is the largest film festival in Norway as considered by attendance figures; in 2010 there were 58 267 admissions. In 2006 TIFF...

. The choir later went on a tour of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and were featured at Ground zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The choir's oldest and most famous member, Einar Strand, died at the age of 98 in 2004.

Berlevåg is also the place for the fictional story "Babette's Feast" by the Danish author Karen Blixen
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke , , née Karen Christenze Dinesen, was a Danish author also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen. She also wrote under the pen names Osceola and Pierre Andrézel...

 / Isak Dinesen published in the anthology "Seven Gothic Tales" 1934.

Sister cities

The following are twin town
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

s of Berlevåg: Belomorsk
Belomorsk
Belomorsk is a town and the administrative center of Belomorsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Onega Bay on the shore of the White Sea. Population:...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

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