Kirkenes

Kirkenes is a town in the Finnmark region of Norway, far east near the Russian border, more or less in the end of mainland Norway. This is the last port for Hurtigruten and the end of Norway's main road E6, from Oslo and  from Trelleborg (Sweden).



Understand
Kirkenes is known as a mining town, and mining for iron ore has been taken up again after a hiatus. Kirkenes has some 3,500 inhabitants.

The region was Germany's staging ground for its northern front against the Soviet Union during World War II, and this has left marks in the area. The town of Kirkenes was totally destroyed by almost 350 Soviet air raids, and holds the record as the most bombed-out town in Europe during the war. Upon an imminent Soviet advance the population was forced by the Germans to relocate to Tromsø and further south. However, more than 3,000 residents and their livestock hid for around ten days in the mines and appeared when the town was liberated by the Red Army in October 1944, more than six months ahead of Norway as a whole. Norway's flag was raised on liberated territory for the first time at the Kirkenes mines. The buildings at the mines were the only ones remaining, and the first administration in free Norway was set up there.

Fun facts


The mother of US actor Renée Zellweger was born and grew up in Kirkenes. Her parents met at the Hurtigruten ferry.

Tourist office
The municipal tourist information is at the public library downtown.

Get in
Note the time zone difference if coming from Finland (1 hour) or Russia (varies according to daylight saving). Check what timezone is used in timetables for international services.

By car

 * Kirkenes is at the very end of the all-through-Norway 2,500 km long highway E6. Visitors can also enter by road from northern Finland (about 7 hours from Rovaniemi, either via Utsjoki or Sevettijärvi), and north-western Russia (about 4 hours from Murmansk, including border formalities).
 * From southern Norway or Germany by car, the shorter and faster route is through Sweden and Finland. The normal route would be over Rovaniemi as above, although from Sweden there is a shortcut over Pajala and Kittilä which is shorter but slower. Kirkenes is some 2,600 km from Hamburg through Sweden, through Norway well over 3,000 km. It is advised to visit interesting places along the way, even if this takes time, not just drive as much as possible per day.
 * An alternative for bringing a car from continental Europe without spending days and days behind the steering wheel is the car ferry from Travemünde to Helsinki, and then the car carrying train overnight from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.
 * From Russia, the road from Saint Petersburg to Petrozavodsk and further via Murmansk to Kirkenes (M18 «Кола»; P-21?) is the main option. From Petrozavodsk onwards there are few alternatives.

By bus

 * Long distance buses, with connections to most of Norway.
 * Regional buses
 * Buses from Finland (direct connections in summer, in winter you have to transfer at Tana or some distance before). Search for connections to Utsjoki or Nuorgam, the border villages on the Finnish side, and check details of the route. You may have to walk over the border to a suitable stop on E6.
 * There are probably coaches or minibuses from Murmansk in Russia, check.

By sea
Kirkenes is the northern terminus port (Bergen being the southern) of the Hurtigruten, arguably the most beautiful sea voyage in the world, covering most of the Norwegian coast in 5–6 days.

By plane
On certain occasions it is considerably cheaper to fly into Ivalo in Finland, some 240 km away, mainly if you are a small group or a family and plan to rent a car anyway. Rental cars are not cheap in Northern Norway.

By train
There are no passenger trains to Kirkenes, but it is possible to go by public bus from cities with railway station.
 * The Russian rail network reaches Murmansk, for travelling from as far as Moscow, Vladivostok, Ulan Bator and Beijing.
 * The closest Finnish stations are Kolari and Rovaniemi (some 500 km away).
 * The northernmost railway station in Norway is Narvik (on the "iron ore line"), while Kiruna, Luleå and Boden are stations in Sweden on the same line. The Norwegian railways are even farther away, with railhead in Bodø.

Get around
Local buses. Long distance buses leave outside the main shopping center in the middle of town. Some buses only take cash, however there is an ATM inside the shopping center.

See

 * The midnight sun in summer
 * The Aurora Borealis in winter
 * The Russian border, including the, where also Finland joins in. Caution should be exercised; presume all movement is under surveillance near the border. It is allowed to go almost to the border on the Norwegian side, but not the Russian. Respect the border and border zone as if we still had the cold war (e.g. long lens use is restricted, talking over the border forbidden except in emergencies). The easiest place to reach the border is , signposted from road E105. The three-borders-mark is in the Pasvik–Inari Trilateral Park, see below.

Do
Fishing, both salt and fresh water, including salmon. Hiking.



Events

 * Local summer festival Kirkenes Days around the first week of August multiplies the activity level.

Buy


Russian visitors often buy clothes and home products, which tax-free (not available to EU/Norwegian residents) are cheaper than similar non-Russian products in nearby Murmansk or Nikel.

Local Norwegians can get a 5-year multitravel visa and they like to go to Russia to buy petrol (less than half the price) and some Russian products and services. They are not allowed to bring meat over the border, and alcohol only if they been in Russia for 24 hours (and then only a small quota), products which otherwise are the most bought by Norwegians in the border trade in Sweden and Finland. Visitors need a visa, which is costly and tricky to get.

Eat
Being a small settlement dining opportunities are not abundant. There are however a few restaurants.

Drink
Try Ritz or Ofelas.

Cope
There have been incidents with GPS blocking, probably because of the border and Murmansk being nearby. Don't get confused if your GPS stops working properly.

Go next



 * Go up the Pasvik valley for quite a change of flora. Here you find the last bit of the enormous Russian Taiga, a pine forest that stretches all the way to Siberia. At the southern end of the valley (105 km of paved road, 15 km of dirt, then 1h15m walking along the Russian border) is the Tri-Border Mark, where Norway, Russia and Finland meet. Heavy fines for trespassing into Russia! The Pasvik-Inari trilateral park, including areas with different protection status in the three countries, features much untamed wilderness, but also some services and cultural attractions.
 * At Grense Jakobselv (58 km east from Kirkenes), the open Barents Sea washes a beautiful sandy shore. Never gets above 8°C, though! You can also peek at the "King Oscar II" church.
 * The highest peak around is "Øretoppen", at 466 metres. It is a 2-hour hike along a marked path from Ropelv, where buses go. Magnificent views in a landscape of large stones spread upon the hills.

Further away



 * If you are planning on crossing the border into Russia, you will probably need a visa. In theory, this should be obtainable at the Russian Consulate in Kirkenes, but you might find it worthwhile to pay a local travel agency to do the job for you. You need quite a few documents like pre-paid hotel booking and insurance forms, especially if you are traveling by car. Start the process one month before leaving home.
 * If you are heading for Finland, and feel that you need some euros, there is an ATM at the DnB bank that will hand them over. The nearest border crossings for vehicles are at and Nuorgam. The route by foot straight through the forest to the Finnish side is possible for experienced wilderness backpackers, by the Piilola trail (or finding your own routes, but the area is hard to navigate), see Øvre Pasvik National Park above. Clear with customs beforehand if needed, sleep in huts on the way and arrange somebody to fetch you with taxi from the Finnish trailhead or from Nellim, or by boat over Lake Inari from a suitable shore, to Ivalo or Inari. There is no marked trail from the tripoint itself, and the shortest route from there is blocked by the border zone.
 * Alternatively, if your travel budget allows, you can take the Hurtigruten cruise ferry to your destination of choice along the Norwegian coast. A trip to Bergen will take a full week, to places like Nordkapp, Tromsø, Lofoten or Trondheim a couple of days.