Alta (Northern Sami: Álttá gielda, Kven: Alattion komuuni) is a
municipality in Troms and Finnmark, west of Finnmark, with city
status since 2000. It borders in the north on Hasvik, Hammerfest and
Loppa, in the east on Porsanger, in the south on Kautokeino and
Karasjok, and in the west towards Kvænangen and Loppa. Alta is also
the name of the town and city, which is the municipality's
administrative center.
Several interpretations of the place
name Alta have been launched. Oluf Rygh put it in connection with
the Old Norse alpt («swan»). Just Qvigstad thought the first link
was the Finnish ala-, as in alamaa («lowland»). Jens Petter Nielsen
has pointed to the Sami alda ("sacrificial site").
Ancient monuments
Alta is famous for the rock
carvings that were discovered in 1973 and are on the UNESCO World
Heritage List. This field has Northern Europe's largest number of
petroglyphs and rock paintings made by a hunter-gatherer population.
The oldest rock carvings are shoreline dated to be approx. 7000
years old. The first find was the so-called Pippisteinen, which in
the 1950s was found in Gjermundsby a little south of Isnestoften.
The town is also known for the Stone Age finds near the mountain
Komsa, which has given its name to what was previously called the
Komsa culture and which is today called the Old Stone Age in
Finnmark.
Before 1700
Alta is first mentioned in written
sources in 1520, and is at that time apparently a district inhabited
by a couple of hundred sea Sami who lived by hunting, fishing and
animal husbandry. The area was a common tax country for
Denmark-Norway, Sweden and Russia. Towards the end of the 16th
century, there were constant conflicts between Sweden and Denmark
over the right to tax salmon fishing in the Alta River, and in 1611
the Danish king built a fortress on Årøya to keep the Swedes away.
It was not until the peace of Knærød (1613) that it was established
that Alta and the other fjord areas in the north belonged to
Denmark-Norway. By this time, the first Norwegians had begun to
settle inside the Altafjord, especially on the west side of the
fjord and on Årøya.
18th century
Alta belonged to Sørvær
parish, but as the fisheries failed and the population on the coast
sank, at the same time as Alta experienced a certain growth, the
center of gravity in the parish shifted inwards. In 1694,
Altafjorden's first church was built on Årøya, but in 1705 it was
moved to the Talvik courthouse. Alta now became the main parish. In
Talvik, the Alten Handel trading facility was also established a few
years earlier. Around the year 1700, Kven immigration, as a result
of war and famine in Finland, began in Alta in earnest. The Kvens
brought with them both grain cultivation and improved river fishing
methods, and settled mainly by the Alta River from Elvebakken and up
to Upper Alta. In 1738, the county governor moved from Vardø to
Alta, and built Altagård as a residence. The place was the county
seat until 1815. The trade monopoly was abolished in the county of
Finnmark in 1789, and trading places were soon established in
Bossekop, Djupvik in Leirbotn, Rivarbukt, Sopnes and Komagfjord.
During the 18th century, the population of Alta had increased from
350 to almost 2,000. In 1801, 54% were Sami, 29% Norwegians and 18%
Kvens.
19th century
In 1826, the English company Alten
Copper Mines started mining in Kåfjord. Many miners came to Kåfjord
from Finland, Sweden and mining communities in southern Norway such
as Røros and Folldal. During the mining period, Kåfjord was for a
period the most populous place in Finnmark. The mining community was
a melting pot of different cultures; here there were, among other
things, a hotel, inn, school, theater, large workers' barracks and
director's residence. Kåfjord Church (1837), which was not burned
during the war, clearly bears the mark of its English architecture
from the mining period. From 1837 there was also mining in Raipas,
but in 1878 the operation was closed down in both places. The
Swedish-owned Altens Kobbergruber resumed operations in the years
1896 before they also gave up mining in 1908.
Several of the
miners traveled on to the United States, but others began as early
as the 1830s to combine mining with farming. In this way, the large
valleys in inner Alta - Mathisdalen, Storelvdalen, Eiby and
Tverrelvdalen were cultivated. Another industry that grew up after
the end of Kåfjord was slate.
Throughout the 19th century,
the Pomor trade became important for the outer fjord areas of Alta.
Norwegian fish was exchanged for Russian grain and supplied the
coastal population in large parts of northern Norway. This trade
became increasingly important until its abrupt end after the Russian
Revolution of 1917.
In 1857 the parish was divided in Alta
and Talvik, and in 1862 the same thing happened with the
municipality. Kåfjord had then been its own chapel parish since
1837. The Catholic North Police Mission had its headquarters at
Altagård 1856-65, and there was a Catholic congregation in Alta
until 1902. The Laestadian revival had greater progress, especially
from 1865 onwards, and especially among the Kvens on Elvebakken.
Second World War
Alta and the fjord Kåfjord is also known for
the attempt to sink the German battleship "Tirpitz", which was in
the fjord for 18 months. The ship was so badly damaged that it had
to leave the fjord. The ship was towed to Tromsø where it was
eventually sunk by the Allied forces.
Alta was burned down by the Germans in the autumn of 1944 and the
only building in the current city of Alta that was not burned was
Alta Church. The churches in Kåfjord, Talvik, Sopnes and Kviby were
spared. The population was evacuated to the south and was received
by host families in different parts of the country. After the
liberation of Norway, the population returned, some already in the
spring of 1945. Those who returned lived in the summer of 1945 in
tents and barns, where they rebuilt the houses on their old plots.
Many houses were built of planks that they found at Alta Airport.
The airport had been built by the Germans during the war. The
airstrip had been built of planks approx. 148 mm x 48 mm and 4
meters long, but these planks were pierced with holes to drain water
from the airstrip. Plugs were nailed and put in the holes and houses
were carpented. It was illegal to pick up planks, but more and more
disappeared from the airstrip. You can still see some old living
rooms that are made up of these characteristic pierced planks that
are sealed with wooden plugs.
Altasaken
Alta became known
for the People's Action against the development of the
Alta-Kautokeinovassdraget, where several thousand protesters chained
themselves in Stilla. The demonstrators were environmentalists from
all over Norway, but also from other countries such as Denmark. The
local population in Alta was divided, with some in favor of
development and others against. Some believed that development would
provide Alta with important jobs. While others who lived along the
Alta River and were closely connected to the river were against
development. Most anglers were against development when they feared
the consequences for Altalaksen. Despite this, the Altademingen was
built in the Alta-Kautokeinovassdraget. The Alta River is known for
being one of Europe's most beautiful salmon rivers.