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Lofoten is not simply great for fishing because it’s on the coast. There’s a natural advantage. Through most of Northern Norway, the waters are very cold. This is great for breeding string healthy fish but it’s not so great for spawning. The cold waters are too harsh for young fish to survive, so the fish need to swim south to breed.
The town of Vågan is the first known town formed in all of Northern Norway. It was located on the southern cost of East Lofoten and is close to the modern village of Kabelvåg, not far from Svolvær.

Many of the archaeological finds we have, from the Iron Age and Viking Age, can be found farther west near Borg on Vestvågøy.

During the Viking Age, chieftains ruled through a mixture of alliances and strength. Strategic marriages and soft power – giving gifts and throwing feasts – were as important as fighting battles and killing enemies. If you think about it, it’s better to leave people alive as long as you can get them to do your bidding for you!

Reconstructed longhouse at Borg in Lofoten. Part of the Lofotr Viking Museum.
Reconstructed longhouse at Borg in Lofoten. Part of the Lofotr Viking Museum.
One chieftain we know of from Borg was the fearsome Oláfr. As well as being known was Uni-brow, he was also said to be a hamrammr; a skin-changer or werewolf. That alone was probably enough to maintain his reputation of strength and allowed him to rule over the fertile lands in the east of Vestvågøy.

In his grave we find, among other things, gold-leafed glassware from abroad. This would have been very rare, and marks Oláfr out as a well-connected and powerful man.

King Olav and Lofoten
Also famous in the history of the area was Thorir the Stag (Þórir Hjort) from Austvågøy. He was known mainly as an opponent of King Olav Tryggvason, who united Norway and started the Christianisation of the country.

Olav was a ruthless conqueror of lands and many chiefs converted without bloodshed, unwilling to challenge the King in battle.

Thorir, however, was a staunch opponent of the king and decided to stand up to what he saw as tyranny. A bloody battle ensued with massive losses on both sides. Eventually the King was victorious, but it was a significant point in their history.

In most accounts, the King killed Thorir personally by throwing a spear at him. Some say that when his body fell to the ground a stag leapt out and ran into the forest.

Vågan would soon become the power centre for the region and the local assembly (Thing or Þing) was held there. King Olav and his successors would soon start to make a large amount of money from the area thanks to Lofoten’s most useful resource: