Small roads lead from the Lyngenfjord to Narvik, the Norwegian port city between mountains and fjords. The Lyngenfjord bids us farewell with grandiose cloud formations and the mood lighting conjures up an unusually menacing atmosphere over the Lyngen Alps.
In Narvik we moved into the Scandic Hotel - a good choice, because we got a room on an upper floor as requested and looked forward to the panoramic view of the harbor facilities we had been hoping for.
Since the weather is also playing along, we can take some beautiful photographs of the industrial city as soon as we arrive.
Narvik is on the Ofotfjord and is an important port for shipping iron ore from the Kiruna area of Sweden. The Gulf Stream keeps this harbor ice-free all year round and is also the reason for the relatively mild climate. Despite being north of the Arctic Circle, January, the coldest month, gets just −4.5°C.
During World War II, Narvik was attacked and conquered by units of the German Wehrmacht, and the town was almost completely destroyed by the bombardment of the German Heinkel He 111 bombers. The iron ore was then shipped from Kiruna via Narvik to Emden in order to be delivered from there to the ironworks of the war industry of the German Reich in the Ruhr area.
