Å, Moskenes

Å
Å i Lofoten
Village
View of the village of Å
View of the village of Å
Map
Å is located in Nordland
Å
Å
Å is located in Norway
Å
Å
Coordinates: 67°52′47″N 12°59′02″E / 67.8796°N 12.9840°E / 67.8796; 12.9840
CountryNorway
RegionNorthern Norway
CountyNordland
DistrictLofoten
MunicipalityMoskenes Municipality
Area
 • Total8 km2 (3 sq mi)
Elevation6 m (20 ft)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code
8392 Sørvågen
Climate classificationCfc

Å (Norwegian pronunciation: [oː], from å meaning "stream") or Å i Lofoten (lit.'Å in Lofoten')[2] is a village in Moskenes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwest of the village of Sørvågen on the island of Moskenesøya, towards the southern end of the Lofoten archipelago. It is connected to the rest of the archipelago by the European route E10 highway, which ends here. This part of the highway is also called King Olav's Road.

The frequently stolen road sign approaching the village of Å

Until the 1990s, Å was mainly a small fishing village specializing in stockfish, but since then tourism has taken over as the main economic activity. The town features the Lofoten Stockfish Museum and the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum as two big tourist attractions.

Name

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The village (originally a farm) is first known to be mentioned in 1567 as "Aa". The name is from Old Norse word "á" which means "(small) river". The name was spelled "Aa" until 1917 when the Norwegian language reform changed the letter "aa" to "å". The village is sometimes referred to as Å i Lofoten ("i" means "in") to distinguish it from other meanings that go by Å (see Å (disambiguation)).

In media

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In 2008, Joanna Lumley visited Å in the Lofoten Islands, for the BBC One television documentary Joanna Lumley: In the Land of the Northern Lights; where she learned about the village's fishing heritage, during her journey to see the aurora borealis.[3]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ "Å, Moskenes (Nordland)". yr.no. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  2. ^ "Informasjon om stadnamn". Norgeskart (in Norwegian). Kartverket. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  3. ^ Wollaston, Sam (8 September 2008). "The weekend's TV". Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
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