Senja is the
second largest island in
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
(not counting
SpitsbergenSpitsbergen is a Norwegian island, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The island of Spitsbergen covers approximately 39,044 km²...
). It is located along the
Tromsor Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
county coastline with
Finnsnesis a town in the county of Troms in Norway. Finnsnes is in the municipality of Lenvik. Located on the mainland near the island of Senja, it has grown from a small farm to a major regional population center in the last few hundred years. It is served by Bardufoss Airport. Including Silsand, located...
as the closest town. Senja is connected to the mainland by the
Gisund BridgeGisund Bridge is a cantilever road bridge that crosses Gisundet from Finnsnes on the mainland to Silsand on Senja in Troms county in Norway. The bridge is 1147 metres long, the main span is 143 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 41 metres...
.
Among the sights of the island are
Ånderdalen National ParkÅnderdalen National Park lies in Torsken and Tranøy municipalities in Troms county, Norway. The park opened in 1970, was enlarged in 2004, and is now 125 km²...
with coastal
pineThe Scots Pine is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Ireland, Great Britain and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as Lapland...
forest and mountains, traditional fishing communities and the world's largest
trollA troll is a member of a race of fearsome creatures from Norse mythology.Originally more or less the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size, the different depictions have come to range from the fiendish giants – similar to the ogres of England – to a devious, more human-like...
; Senja Trollet (The Troll of Senja).
Senja is the
second largest island in
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
(not counting
SpitsbergenSpitsbergen is a Norwegian island, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The island of Spitsbergen covers approximately 39,044 km²...
). It is located along the
Tromsor Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
county coastline with
Finnsnesis a town in the county of Troms in Norway. Finnsnes is in the municipality of Lenvik. Located on the mainland near the island of Senja, it has grown from a small farm to a major regional population center in the last few hundred years. It is served by Bardufoss Airport. Including Silsand, located...
as the closest town. Senja is connected to the mainland by the
Gisund BridgeGisund Bridge is a cantilever road bridge that crosses Gisundet from Finnsnes on the mainland to Silsand on Senja in Troms county in Norway. The bridge is 1147 metres long, the main span is 143 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 41 metres...
.
Among the sights of the island are
Ånderdalen National ParkÅnderdalen National Park lies in Torsken and Tranøy municipalities in Troms county, Norway. The park opened in 1970, was enlarged in 2004, and is now 125 km²...
with coastal
pineThe Scots Pine is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Ireland, Great Britain and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as Lapland...
forest and mountains, traditional fishing communities and the world's largest
trollA troll is a member of a race of fearsome creatures from Norse mythology.Originally more or less the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size, the different depictions have come to range from the fiendish giants – similar to the ogres of England – to a devious, more human-like...
; Senja Trollet (The Troll of Senja). The southernmost municipality
TranøyTranøy is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vangsvik. Tranøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . In 1886, Dyrøy and Sørreisa were separated from it as municipalities of their own.The municipality is situated...
also has several small museums documenting local history, among these the Halibut Museum ("Kveitmuseet") in Skrolsvik.
The north and western coasts of Senja are facing the open sea. Here, steep and rugged mountains rises straight from the sea, with some fishing villages (like
GryllefjordGryllefjord is the administrative centre of Torsken municipality, on the island of Senja, Norway. Its population is 439.Gryllefjord is linked by a car ferry in summer to Andenes on the island of Andøya.- External links :...
,
HusøyHusøy is an island northwest of Senja in Lenvik, Troms, Norway. Its population is 235. Up to recent times, the island was only reachable by boat, but is now connected to Senja with a tunnel and a 300-meter-long breakwater....
) wherever there is some lowland. The eastern and southern parts of the island are milder, with rounder mountains, forests, rivers and agriculture land.
Senja is often referred to as "Norway in miniature" because the island's diverse scenery almost reflects the whole span of Norwegian nature. Senja is well known domestically for its beautiful scenery, and marketed as a tourist attraction.
The municipalities located on Senja are
LenvikLenvik is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The municipality is partly situated on the mainland, partly on the island of Senja. The administrative center is the town of Finnsnes, where the Gisund Bridge connects Senja to the mainland by road...
(part of which is on the mainland),
BergBerg is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skaland. The municipality faces the Atlantic Ocean on the west side of the island of Senja. Berg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
,
TorskenTorsken is a municipality on the western coast of Senja island in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Gryllefjord. Torsken was separated from the municipality of Berg on 1 January 1902...
, and
TranøyTranøy is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vangsvik. Tranøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . In 1886, Dyrøy and Sørreisa were separated from it as municipalities of their own.The municipality is situated...
Senja had 7782 inhabitants as of January 1, 2008
Senja is mentioned in David Howarth's WWII novel We Die Alone. It has a namesake island in the
MMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of computer role-playing games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
TibiaTibia is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game created by CipSoft GmbH. It is one of the oldest MMORPGs and was considered most noteworthy in its early years; however, with the development of MMORPGs its popularity has grown much slower than others gaming communities...
.