Vågar - a lost medieval trading town in the high arctic

July 21st - July 22nd    Nyvågar - Svolvær

 According to written sources there were a town or city somewhere in Lofoten that for the first three or four centuries of the last millennium was the hub of the stockfish trade (and most other trade in norther Norway). And since stockfish was the main export from Norway in the same period it can be claimed to be the most important town in Norway. And this was at the time where Norway was at its most powerful. (Noregsveldir)

As an important market town it lost most of its importance in the latter part of the 14th century. But still remained an important fishing village, but even that dwindled and until no traces of the once important town was left.   In fact the disappearance so total that the Oslo/Bergen/Trondheim centric historians that ruled history research doubted whether it had existed at all. However archeological excavations in the fields south of what is today Lofoten museum in the 1990-ies has uncovered around 20 000 square meters of medieval "urban" development. 

I haven't found a coherent explanation for the demise, but as I gather there are several factors might have worked together. Much of the explanations I have found centres around beachable ships and boats becoming obsolete. The shallow bays on either side of Vågar was not suited for the new deeper draft ships. But it might seem that this explanation more explain the demise as a fishing village in the late 19th century than the demise of the market town in the 14th century. As I am allowed to make totally unscientific speculation on my blog I would like to link it to the loss of military and trading power of Norway due to the Black Death that killed a third of the population of Norway and the entire governing class. (nobility and all)

Still in the late 19th century the bay was lined with buildings but as a fishing village if was mainly housing for the seasonal fishermen (rorbuer). With the bay becoming unsuited and the bankruptcy of the Storvågan  trading house in 1901 the last buildings was demolished and the ground became farmland. The name of the place had evolved through time too.

As the old centre at Storvågan dwindled especially in the late 19th century the neighbouring Kabelvåg just a couple of kilometers away took over. And a centre with a more urban architecture appeared. 

As with most other Norwegian towns houses was built in wood and over time some of the houses has been lost to fires so much of what once was several city blocks of urban 19th century development is not that consistent any more.

However Kabelvågs importance also dwindled even this time due to modernisation of the fishing fleet. With the introduction of engines boats grew larger and draftier once again and the bays that are Kabelvågs harbour became to small and shallow even they and the main town of Lofoten moved once again a little longer this time to Svolvær.

I had lousy weather in Svolvær and did take any pictures, but at least I managed to pull a telezoom out and get an image of some climbers amending the famous Svolværgeita.