Welcome to Bugøynes

*The sign in the center of the village showing the importance of crabs in their community.*

During my travels I visited a small village in Norway. Bugøynes was settled in the 17th century - but later deserted. It was repopulated by people from Finland in the 18th century. Is one of the few places in Norwegian Lapland where the Finish language is used daily by many of its 220 residents.

Before the road was build to Bugøynes in the 60s, the main link between Bugøynes and the rest of the world was by sea. Although the town of Kirkenes, on the southern side of the fjord, was the local administrative center for Bugøynes, it did not become the center for shopping until people could reach by car.

Workplaces in Bugøynes include fishing, salmon and other fish processing of reindeer meat and game, as well as slipway and machine workshops. The village has two grocery shops, a post-office and a doctor’s surgery (every other Thursday). There are also children’s nursery, a school, a library branch, a dentist, and Bugøynes Chapel.

*The port in the center of the village.*

With nearly 230 inhabitants, also populated by many Finnish-speaking residents, is leading the village to being referred to a “Lille Finland”. The whole economy of the village is based on the exportation of crabs and that’s the reason why people can make a living there and have something to do.

The main cultural thing people enjoy doing for their own health as well for fun is the sauna. We met with the lovely woman who runs and looks after the sauna. Her name was Elsa and she looks after the visitors and explains everything about the culture of using the sauna as well ad swimming in the arctic ocean after the sauna.

People using the sauna in Bugøynes.