Norway
Sortland
Sortland: Vesterålen's Blue Town on the Sound
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Good to know
Where Ships Dock
Cruise ships use Sortland's terminal quay, about 250 meters from the town center, so the blue town is a short walk away. Norway's coastal ships also call at Sortland.
- Sortland lies on the island of Langøya, on the Sortland Sound.
- The Sortland Bridge, 948 meters long and opened in 1975, crosses the sound to Hinnøya.
- Norway's Coast Guard has had a base in Sortland since 1984, and its ships often lie at the base's quay.
- The nearest airport, at Stokmarknes, is about 23 km away.
Sortland on Your Own
Sortland's center is close to the quay and small enough to walk in an hour or two. Look for the blue facades and painted verses, the old churchyard, and the timber church on the hill.
- The blue town: Many buildings in the center are painted in different blues, and new buildings in the center are required to include some blue on their facades.
- Poems on the walls: Some buildings carry short poems and texts written by young people from Vesterålen and by the author Lars Saabye Christensen, who lived in Sortland for several years.
- The old churchyard: Minnelunden, the medieval churchyard site, is the town's millennium site. The tower of the old church stands at its entrance, and a group of wooden houses about a century old nearby is protected.
- Sortland Church: The present church, a large timber church in Gothic Revival style with 840 seats, was consecrated in 1901.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
Tipping and Paying
Tipping is not expected in Norway, and the usual gesture in a restaurant is to round up. Payment by card or phone works almost everywhere, with a little cash handy for small purchases.
- A tip of 10 percent in a restaurant is considered generous.
- Some people tip taxi drivers on longer fares and many do not, so do whichever you prefer.
- The Norwegian krone (NOK) is the currency, and euros are generally not accepted in shops.
Culture and Local Life
The blue town is the best-known part of Sortland's identity, but it has never had everyone's support: some residents find the color cold and the cost wasteful. Beyond the paint, the town has a culture house, galleries and a jazz weekend.
- The artist Bjørn Elvenes proposed the blue-town idea in 1999; the town took it up, and the two later went separate ways before working together again.
- "Den blå byen," the blue town, has been a registered trademark managed by the municipality since 2008.
- Kulturfabrikken, a culture house with a concert hall, library and cinema, opened in 2014.
- Galleri Vesterålen and Galleri 14 show art in the town, and the local jazz club holds Sortland Jazzweekend every year.
History
Sortland grew from a church site and a trading place into the commercial center of Vesterålen, helped along by herring, roads and bridges. It became a town only in 1997.
- Saga figures: Karle and Gunstein, who sailed with Tore Hund to Bjarmaland in 1026 in the saga of Saint Olaf, are often said to have come from Sortland.
- The medieval church: A church at Sortland is first named in written records in 1370, and in 1408 it was dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Dionysius. The bell in the old tower carries an inscription from 1476.
- Traders, 1600s and 1700s: Merchants were trading from Sortland by 1610, a Bergen trader settled here in 1659, and a licensed innkeeper was appointed in 1777.
- A municipality, 1841: Sortland separated from Hadsel to become its own municipality in 1841.
- Herring: In the second half of the 1800s Eidsfjorden was one of Norway's best herring fjords, and that fishery helped lay the ground for the founding of the coastal express route.
- The present church, 1901: The new church on the hill was consecrated in 1901, and the old one was taken down the next year.
- Fish balls, 1912: Georg Ellingsen founded the Vesteraalens cannery on April 19, 1912, and it is best known for its canned fish balls.
- Bridges and growth: The Sortland Bridge opened in 1975, the Coast Guard base in 1984, and Sortland declared itself a town on June 19, 1997.
Shopping
Sortland is the shopping town of Vesterålen, with more retail trade per resident than either Bodø or Tromsø. Several large shopping centers stand in or near the center.
- Visitors can have the VAT refunded on goods bought in Norway, but you must bring your passport or ID card to the store when you buy.
- Vesteraalens, the cannery founded in Sortland in 1912, is best known for its canned fish balls.
Beaches
Sortland municipality has several sandy beaches, at Sigerfjord, at Holm and on road 820.
- Dalsand, in Sigerfjord, is a popular swimming beach.
- At Holm there is a beach of coral sand.
- Fjærvollsanden is a beach on road 820.
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