History
The district of Sør-Varanger, with Kirkenes as its main town, was jointly occupied by Norway and Russia until 1926, when the Russian, Finnish and Norwegian borders were set.
In 1906 iron ore was discovered nearby and Kirkenes became a major supplier of raw materials for artillery during WWI. Early in WWII the Nazis coveted its resources and strategic position near the Russian port of Murmansk, occupied the town and posted 100, 000 troops there. As a result, tiny Kirkenes was, after Malta, the most bombed place during WWII, with at least 320 devastating Soviet raids. The town was also an internment site for Norwegians from all over the country who did not cooperate with the Nazi occupiers.
The retreating Nazis burned to the ground the little left of Kirkenes before advancing Soviet troops liberated its ruins in October 1944. Subsequently rebuilt, it continued to supply iron ore to much of Europe but costs were too high to sustain the industry and in 1996 the mines closed down.
Kirkenes
Things to do
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