The Trollfjord

Trollfjorden carves inwards to Austvågøy from the west side of the 25-kilometre-long Raftsundet, a very narrow sound between Austvågøy and Hinnøya.

On calm days, Hurtigruten can sail in and almost brush the sides of the 1,000-metre-high mountains of Trollfjorden. No other Norwegian fjord offers you the chance to get as close to this incredible sight.

On deck, you can admire peaks such as Trolltinden (1,045 metres above sea level) on one side and Blåfjellet (998 metres above sea level) on the other, while the captain calmly manouevres the ship into the 100-metre-wide mouth of the fjord and turns around a few kilometres further in.

All the while, you are quietly praying that the old tale still holds true: the trolls here won’t wake for a thousand years, by which time our ship will have sailed away.

This region has inspired famous Norwegian art and literature. In 1890, a battle broke out in Trollfjorden between fishermen who were all eager to claim the massive shoals of fish that had entered the fjord. The large steam-powered vessels had cast nets that blocked the fish inside the fjord, which was unacceptable to the fishermen in the smaller boats.

The fight is mentioned in the classic novel “Den siste viking” (“The Last Viking”) by Johan Bojer and is also captured in Gunnar Berg’s painting “Trollfjordslaget” (“The Trollfjord Battle”), which is on display in Svolvær town hall.