Hinnøya

Hinnøya is 2204 km ², the largest island off the coast of Norway. With the exception of the archipelago of Svalbard, it is the largest Norwegian island. Hinnøya is inhabited, besides the largest settlement Harstad there are several smaller villages. It is one of the most populous islands in Norway.

The Digermulen at the south end of the island exercised a strong attraction to Kaiser Wilhelm II. He traveled several times since 1890 with his entourage here and climbed the hilltop Digermulenkollen that offers a great view of the Vest Fjord and on the Raftsund. He built here a Varde. The hilltop has since been Keiservarden. Many German tourists followed in his footsteps.

Geography

The island in the Norwegian Sea is shared by several fjords; the landscape is mountainous. In the south of the island lies the Møysalen, with 1,262 m height its highest mountain. Agricultural use is focused on the North East by Harstad and Kvæfjord.

The connection to the mainland is produced by about one kilometer long Tjeldsundbrücke over the Tjeldsundet. In the West, Sortlandbrücke leads to the neighboring island Langøya and in the north the Andøybrücke on the island Andøya. All three islands are geographically to the archipelago of Vesterålen.

Political Overview

Hinnøya is about half way in Fylke Troms (Harstad and Kvæfjord ) and half in Nordland ( Andøy, Hadsel, Lødingen, Sortland and Tjeldsundet ). The West of Hinnøya is attributed to the archipelago of Vesteralen, the southwestern tip is considered as part of the Lofoten, because it was previously only accessible by boat from Svolvær from.