Alstahaug kommune - WELCOME TO ALSTAHAUG

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WELCOME TO ALSTAHAUG

The borough of Alstahaug is an island community on the coast of Helgeland with a population of about 7,500 inhabitants spread across no less than 917 islands and islets of all shapes and sizes, the largest of which is called Alstenøya.

Cultural life in the municipality is abundant and wide-ranging, and its history reaches way back in time. The well-known names from the Viking Age include Sigrid and Torolv Kveldulvson and Hårek of Tjøtta. We might also mention that the famous clergyman-poet Petter Dass lived in Alstahaug and was minister there from 1689.

Sandnessjøen is the administrative centre of the borough of Alstahaug and is a major hub of communications in the outer regions of Helgeland. On June 21, 1999, it was awarded the status of city. The main industries in the borough include the retail trade, public and private services, aquaculture, and mechanical service industries including shipbuilding and offshore activities that serve the oil industry off the coast of Helgeland.

Sandnessjøen is the focal point of the surrounding district with daily arrivals and departures of buses, boats and plains. The Coastal Voyage liners, Hurtigruten, also arrive daily. The tourist information centre on the quayside provides visitors with information about the city and the surrounding district.

Petter Dass

Throughout the ages, Alstahaug has become best known due to such prominent personalities as Petter Dass. He was born in Herøy in 1647 and lived there for the first six years of his life.

At the age of 22, Petter Dass returned to Helgeland, first to Vefsn and Nesna, and then to Alstahaug, where he became minister in 1689. He was also writing, and his best-known works are “The Trumpet of Nordland” and the hymn “Mighty God, to Thy dear Name be given Highest praise.” He lived in Alstahaug until his death in 1707.

The Petter Dass- museum in Alstahaug

Here you can gain an insight into how the poet-clergyman Petter Dass lived. The grounds accommodate a main building, a storehouse, a cookhouse/scullery, a well house, a chapel and down by the sea a quayside warehouse where boats and tackle help illustrate elements of coastal culture.

Guided tours are available between mid June and mid August.

Alstahaug Church

Judging by its style and construction, the oldest part of the church seems to have been erected around the year 1200 A.D. The church comprises together with Herøy Church and Dønnes Church, the so-called triangle churches, sharing several common attributes. The churches in Alstahaug and Dønna both have been furnished with the characteristic onion-shaped domes.

After the year 1200 A.D. Alstahaug church has been extended, refurnished and last restored in the 1960’s. This was the main church of Petter Dass.

When Mathias Bonsak Krogh was inaugurated as Bishop in 1804, Alstahaug Church served as a cathedral from 1805 until 1928 when the bishop died.

The War Cemetery in Tjøtta (the Russian War Cemetery)

The Soviet prisoners of war who died in North Norway during World War II, were buried in ordinary cemeteries. After the war, however, the Norwegian authorities decided that they should be moved and brought together in a common cemetery on state ground in Tjøtta.

The cemetery was consecrated in 1953 and comprises an enclosed common grave to the north with 6,725 dead, and 826 individual graves to the south.

Tjøtta International War Cemetery

This cemetery was devoted to all of those who perished at the sinking of the troop transport ship “Rigel” on November 27, 1944. When the Germans retreated from the northern front and Finnmark in autumn 1944, large numbers of troops were transported by sea southwards along the coast of Norway. One of the ships used was the “Rigel” with 2,248 Russian POW’s, 103 German prisoners and some Serbs, Czechs and Norwegians on board. In addition to these were a few hundred German escort guards and a Norwegian crew, and it is assumed that there were 2,838 people on the ship. On November 27, 1944, allied aircraft attacked the “Rigel”. The ship sank and altogether 2,457 people perished. The event is considered one of the most significant shipwrecks in the world. The wreck lay partially submerged off the coast of Rosøya island until about 1970, but has now been removed. This cemetery was consecrated in 1970. All the graves are anonymous, but a memorial stone in the form of a cross has been erected on the site.

Leikenga

In 1949 traces of a very old settlement were found in Tjøtta. The finds were made at Leikenga and the site, which was altogether 80 by 150 metres, consisted of a group of 16 buildings dating back to the Age of Migration.

Tjøtta Gård

The first well-known person to own the Tjøtta farm estate was the scald Øyvind Finnson Skaldespiller in the 900’s A.D. Øyvind’s son, Hårek, took over the farm after his father’s death and was soon to become the most powerful man in Hålogaland. Hårek was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 and his son Einar Fluga took over the farm.

In 1930 the farm was bought by the state for 90,000 kroner. It then became a sheep breeding farm and has since 1948 been a research centre. Today’s name is Planteforsk Tjøtta.

The Footprints in the North

There is an approximately 3 km long culture trail in Tjøtta that helps recount local history. There are also information boards (Norwegian text) along the way.

Tjøtta Church

The church that stands in Tjøtta today is the third in the line of churches, erected after the first two were wholly or in part destroyed by fire.

Belsvåg Gård estate

The Belsvåg farm estate is situated at the head of Alstahaugvågen bay, and the oldest building on the farm dates back to the 1600’s.

In 1804 Mathias Bonsak Krogh was inaugurated as bishop of the Northern regions and a year later he settled down in Belsvåg. In 1812 he bought the estate and lived there until his death in 1828.

Today’s owner provides overnight accommodation in the manor, the lodge and in cabins in the grounds.

Vettfjellet, 244 meters above sea level

In the old days beacons were burned here to warn of the approach of an enemy. Today there are trails up to the top, where you will have a unique view of Alstahaugtunet, the shipping lanes, island realm beyond and Søvik that was formerly the administrative centre of the borough of Alstahaug until Sandnessjøen took over in 1899.

The mountains, The Seven Sisters (De Syv Søstre)

The mountains are, from north to south:

Botnkrona (1072 metres above sea level.), Grytfoten (1019), Skjæringen (1037), Tvillingene (the Twins, 945 and 980), Kvasstinden (1010) and Breitinden / Stortinden (910).

Sandnessjøen Tourist Association has marked trails to each of the summits so that you can go safely from top to top on your own. There are books on each summit where you can sign your name. If you climb all the peaks you are eligible for a special diploma as proof of your achievement. Registration cards and maps of the trails are available at Sandnessjøen tourist information centre.

Sagagården Sandnes

Sandnesgården farm was originally a place of heathen worship. The sagas tell us that Sigurd Herse owned the farm in the 800’s and that he lived there with his daughter, Sigrid.

Sigrid married Torolv Kveldulvson, and when Sigurd died in 873, they took over the farm and Torget near Brønnøysund.

Today there are no traces left of the Sandnes farm.

The Elk

When you drive along branch road Rv17 from the Helgeland Bridge towards the town centre, you will pass by the statue of an elk. This is to symbolize the borough of the elk, Alstahaug. The statue was erected in 1999 and was made by the sculptor Skule Waksvik. Elk can be seen all over the borough, and when the elk hunting season starts, it is not uncommon for them to be seen wandering down from the forest and along the streets, or helping themselves to goodies in people’s gardens.