Hammerfest, Norway - Photographs - 1908
Below are photographs of the Hammerfest area of Norway from 1908 taken by the Hamburg America Line and published in the book, Nordland Fahrten. Hammerfest is a city and municipality in the county of Finnmark, Norway. The municipality encompasses parts of three islands; Kvaløya, Sørøya and Seiland.
Photo 061: View of Hammerfest Harbor
Photo 062: The Town of Hammerfest with a View of the Harbor in the Background
Photo 063: A Band Concert at the Pier at Hammerfest Harbor draws a large crowd.
Photo 064: People in Hammerfest Observing the Meridian Column. Steamship in Background.
Along the little bay on the southern side of which the town lies, a road—the only one running into or out of the town—leads to the promontory Fuglenapsset, where the British Consul has erected a spacious and comfortable house, and in the vicinity of the latter stands a fine, polished column of granite and bronze, viz., the meridian column at Hammerfest.
The inscription upon it is in Norwegian and Latin, and informs us of what scientific importance this spot is, and in honour of what scientific achievement the column was raised. It is as follows :—
"The northern end of a meridian of 25° 20' from the Arctic Ocean to the river Danube, through Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Measured, at the instance of their Majesties King Oscar I. and the Emperors Alexander I. and Nicolaus I., by the geometricians of the three countries, after a continuous labour from 1816 to 1852. Latitude 70° 40' 11" 3." (Note 1)
Photo 065: Children sitting on bench near the Meridian Column, Steamshp anchored in the Harbor at Hammerfest.
Photo 066: At the Quai in Hammerfest; Passengers embark on the tendor heading for the Steamship anchored in the Harbor.
Note 1: Tromholt, Sophus, Under the Rays of the Aurora Borealis: in the land of the Lapps and Kvæns, "From Hammerfest to Vadsö", London: Samson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington (1885), p. 243.