Vardø Tunnel and Street Art of Vardø Town | Arctic Extreme in Easternmost Norway

Driving through the undersea Vardø tunnel and exploring the street art of Vardø.

The Vardø (Vuoreija, Vuorea, Várggát) town is located in Finnmark county, in the extreme northeastern part of Norway on the arctic island of Vardøya in the Barents Sea, just off the coast of the large Varanger Peninsula.

Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway and in all the Nordic countries. Vardø is the gateway to the North-east Passage and the Barents Sea – and Norway’s only town in the Arctic climate zone.

Vardø is the oldest town in northern Norway, and the oldest fishing village in Norwegian Lapland. The old fortress town of Vardø was also the center for medieval witch hunts.

Vardø gets its name from the words wolf and island. On "wolf island" people have lived for over a thousand years. At all times, the rich natural resources of the outer Varangerfjord have created the basis of life for people.

The Vardø tunnel (Vardøtunnelen) connects the island of Vardøya to the village of Svartnes on the Varanger Peninsula on the mainland. The two-lane tunnel is 2 890 m (9 480 ft) long. It reaches a depth of 88 m (289 ft) below sea level under the Bussesundet strait. The tunnel opened in 1982 and was the first undersea tunnel in Norway. The tunnel is part of the European Route E75 highway.

The Komafest urban art and graffiti event was organized in Vardø in 2012. Komafest’s focus is to highlight depopulation problems in the northern regions. During the Komafest event participating artists created about fifty art works on the walls of abandoned houses and warehouses in Vardø. The name Komafest plays on the imagery of Vardø waking up from a long comatic sleep and starting to return to life.

Komafest was curated by Norwegian urban artist Pøbel (meaning Mob). Participating artists were Stephen Powers (United States), "Vhils" (Portugal), "Roa" (Belgium), Atle Østrem (Norway), "Ethos" (Brazil), "E. B. Itso", "Husk mit navn" (meaning Remember my name) (both Denmark), "Horfe", Ken Sortais, "Remed" (all France) and Conor Harrington (Ireland).

Vardø is housing the Globus II radar system used for space observation and Arctic airspace monitoring. The new Globus III radar is under construction.

Nature lovers and bird watchers can experience bird life up close on Norway’s easternmost nature reserve, Hornoya.

Hornøya is a small bird island situated east of Vardø town / Vardøya island, in the Barents Sea. It is the easternmost point in Norway. Daily boat trips run within season (March - September) from Vardø harbour. Visitors must stay within the designated areas during the breeding season

The seabird colony at Hornøya is hosting approximately 100 000 seabirds of up to 11 breeding species, including Common Guillemot, Kittiwake, Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill and Brünnich’s Guillemot.

During the seabird breeding season, visitors to Hornøya have a chance of seeing White-tailed Eagle and Gyrfalcon hunting the birds on the cliff. The list of vagrant birds it has hosted includes Black-throated Thrush, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Olive-backed Pipit, Paddyfield Warbler, Red-backed Shrike and Red-rumped Swallow. Hornøya is also a great place to spot Grey Seals, Orcas and in summer there is also the rare chance of seeing Belugas.