Country Norway County Finnmark Elevation 7 m (23 ft) Local time Monday 9:12 AM | Region Northern Norway District Øst-Finnmark Time zone CET (UTC+01:00) Municipality Sør-Varanger | |
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Weather 1°C, Wind NW at 18 km/h, 76% Humidity | ||
Bugøynes (Finnish: Pykeijä) is a fishing village in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county in northeastern Norway. The village is situated along the Varangerfjorden which is a vast bay off the Barents Sea (a part of the Arctic Ocean), near the border with Russia. The village is situated some 500 km (310 mi) north of the Arctic Circle, with nearly 230 inhabitants. The village is populated by many Finnish-speaking residents, leading to the village being referred to as Lille-Finland or "Little Finland".
Contents
Map of 9935 Bug%C3%B8ynes, Norway
The name
The meaning of the name is the nes ('headland') besides/inside the island Bugøya. The first element is bug 'bay, inlet', and the second is the finite form of øy 'island'. The meaning is 'the island with several inlets'. Bugøyfjorden nearby is named after the same island.
History
Bugøynes was settled by Norwegians in the 17th century - but later deserted. It was repopulated by people from Finland in the 18th century.
Bugøynes was one of very few places that was not burnt and destroyed under Operation Nordlicht (1944–45).
Before the road was built to Bugøynes in 1962, the main link between Bugøynes and the rest of the world was by sea. The most-visited town in those days was Vadsø, across the Varangerfjorden. Although the town of Kirkenes, on the southern side of the fjord, was the local administrative centre for Bugøynes, it did not become the centre for shopping until people could reach it by car.
Now most trade in this part of Finnmark takes place in Kirkenes. Workplaces in Bugøynes include fishing, salmon and other fish processing, the 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 a children's nursery, a school, a library branch, a dentist, and Bugøynes Chapel.