Vadsø municipality (Kven: Vesisaaren komuuni, Northern Sami:
Čáhcesullo gielda) is a municipality located in eastern Finnmark on
the south side of the Varanger Peninsula. It borders in the north to
Båtsfjord, in the northeast to Vardø and in the west to Tana and
Nesseby, and meets Berlevåg at one point in the northwest. South of
Varangerfjorden is Sør-Varanger municipality. In addition to the
town and the administrative center Vadsø, the municipality covers
the settlement Vestre Jakobselv and Kariel in the west, and Kiby,
Golnes, Ekkerøy, Krampenes and Skallelv in the east. Most of the
plateau within the coast is protected as the Varanger Peninsula
National Park. The municipality's highest point is Skipskjølen
(633.8 masl), which also forms the border point towards Båtsfjord
municipality.
Vadsø has had city status since 1833, and the
city is the administrative center of Finnmark.
Vadsø municipality is located on the Varanger
Peninsula where you have easy access to good grouse terrain and
fishing for salmon and trout. The Varangerfjord is rich in fish
species such as cod, saithe, haddock, catfish and salmon, and also
in king crab.
Originally, Vadsø covered the whole country
around the Varangerfjord, but Nesseby (with Polmak) was separated in
1839 and Sør-Varanger in 1858. From 1894 to 1964, the current
municipality was also divided into the urban municipality Vadsø and
the county municipality Nord-Varanger.
The town of Vadsø has
had significant immigration from Finland in the 19th century, and
the immigration of that time can be clearly seen today through the
Finnish culture and a number of Finnish surnames among the
inhabitants. Due to the significant immigration from Finland, many
describe Vadsø as the "Kven capital". After the year 2000, the city
has again gained a large proportion of immigrants. In 2017, it
accounted for 18% of the population.
There are 4,784
inhabitants in Vadsø town and more than 1,000 scattered in the
places east and west of the town where the settlement Vestre
Jakobselv is the largest with 503 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020.