The village of Vadsø was granted town status in 1833. In 1838, the town of Vadsø and the entire rural district surrounding the Varangerfjorden were established as the new municipality of Vadsø. The law required that all towns should be separated from their rural districts, but because of a low population and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for the municipality of Vadsø in 1838. In 1839, the western district was separated to become the new municipality of Nesseby. This left Vadsø with 388 residents. In 1858, Vadsø municipality changed again: Nesseby Municipality was merged back into Vadsø and the district of Vadsø located south of the Varangerfjorden was separated to form the new municipality of Sør-Varanger. This change resulted in a population of 2,050 in Vadsø municipality. In 1864, the western district of Nesseby was separated into a separate municipality once again, leaving Vadsø with 1,367 residents. On 1 January 1894, the rest of the rural district surrounding the town of Vadsø was separated to form the new municipality of Nord-Varanger. This left just the town of Vadsø remaining in the municipality of Vadsø which now had 1,114 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Nord-Varanger was merged with the town of Vadsø to form the present-day Vadsø Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Finnmark county.
Name
The municipality is named after the town of Vadsø. The name of the town comes from the islandVadsøya, since that was the original townsite. The Old Norse form of the name would be *Vazøy, *Vatsøy, *Vassøy; the eldest references to the town show the forms Vasthøen and Vaadsøenn. The first element is the genitive case of vatn which means "water" and the last element is øy which means "island". Therefore, the meaning of the name is "the island with drinking water".
Coat of arms
The coat of arms is from modern times; they were granted on 20 February 1976. The arms show the head of a reindeer stag in silver on a red background. The reindeer is the main domestic animal in the municipality and thus of great economic importance.
In the 16th century, the settlement of Vadsø consisted of a fishing village and the old Vadsø Church, located on the island of Vadsøya. The settlement later moved to the mainland. Pomor trade led Vadsø to be a major trading centre in this part of Norway. Township privilege was granted in 1833, and soon settlers came from Finland and the northern part of Sweden, which suffered from famine. Finnish was rapidly becoming the language of the majority, and this continued for decades. As of 2016, Finnish is still spoken in some households. During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Vadsø suffered several air raids from the Soviet Union, which bombed German troops. However, there are, unlike most places in Finnmark, a number of 19th century wooden houses preserved close to the city centre, notably the house of Esbensen, built by a Norwegian, and the house of Tuomainen, built by a Finn. On the island of Vadsøya is the airship mast used by Umberto Nobile and Roald Amundsen for their expedition over the North Pole with the airship Norge in 1926, and used again on Nobile's flight with the airship Italia in 1928.
The municipality of Vadsø forms the southern coast of the Varanger Peninsula, which is largely covered by birch forests on this more sheltered side. The Varangerfjorden flows along the southern coast of the municipality and the riverJakobselva runs along the western border of Vadsø. The small islands of Lille Ekkerøy and Vadsøya lie in the Varangerfjorden. The Varangerhalvøya National Park lies in a large part of the interior parts of the municipality. The "midnight sun" is above the horizon from 17 May to 28 July, and the period with continuous daylight lasts a bit longer, polar night from 25 November to 17 January.
Climate
Wildlife
Birdlife
Situated on the shores of the Varangerfjorden the municipality of Vadsø is known for its interesting birdlife. Many of its coastal localities like Store Ekkerøy are internationally known for its rich and interesting birdlife. The harbor at Vadsø can produce all three species of eider, including the small and stunning Steller's eider.
Commerce
River fishing
s are sold for use on specific rivers, including Komag-elva.
