Hammerfest claims to be the northernmost city in the world, although the title is disputed by the nearby Norwegian town of Honningsvåg (achieved town status 1996). The validity of the claim depends upon one’s definition of a town/city. It may help to know that the Norwegian language does not distinguish between city and town. The closest translation for either term is the word by, meaning the translation from Norwegian to English is ambiguous. Although Hammerfest is further south than Honningsvåg, the town of Hammerfest has a population of nearly 8,000 people (and over 11,000 people living in the municipality).
A Norwegian law from 1997 says a municipality must have over 5,000 residents in order for it to declare town status to one of its settlements. Parliament, however, did not make this provision retroactive. Honningsvåg was given town status prior to the 1997 law, so it is a town under current Norwegian law, making Honningsvåg the northernmost town in Norway. Thus, Hammerfest is the northernmost town with over 5,000 residents. This is a point of contention between the two towns who both claim to be the northernmost town in Norway.[5][6][7] Utqiagvik, Alaska, population c. 4,000–5,000, is further north than both the Norwegian towns, but does not lay claim to the title of northernmost town. There are many other smaller “northernmost settlements” in the world.[8]
Many grave sites dating back to the Stone Age can be found here. This location was an important fishing and Arctic hunting settlement for a long time before it was given market town rights by royal decree of Christian VII of Denmark–Norway in 1789.[9]
1684: Hammerfest gets its first church: Hammerfest Church. The population is around 60 people.
1764: Russia begins to send ships with grain to Hammerfest, the so-called Pomor trade.
17 July 1789: Hammerfest receives “town status” as a kjøpstad.
1792: The first doctor arrives in Hammerfest.
1807–1814: The city is ravaged by plague and wars. The blockade by the British vessels during the Napoleonic Wars lead to major food shortages.
1809: The city is looted by two British brigs.
1839: Hammerfest’s first firefighter is employed.
1859: The first lighthouse in Finnmark is constructed: Fuglenes Lighthouse.
1868: The first water plant in the town is built.
1870: A telegraph station, which is used by all of Finnmark, is built.
1890: Two-thirds of the city is destroyed by fire.
1891: Reconstruction of the city begins. A Methodist chapel is opened.
1891: Hammerfest becomes the first town in Norway and Northern Europe with electric streetlights.
1940: After the German occupation of Norway the German Navy used the harbor of the city as a base.
14 February 1944: A Soviet aircraft bombed the city for the first time, but the damage was small.
29 August 1944: A similar, but far more powerful air assault, a number of buildings and streets in the city and ships on the harbour were destroyed. When the Germans retreated, they finalized the destruction.
November 1944: the Germans began systematically burning all the settlements in Finnmark, including Hammerfest.
February 1945: citizens are forcibly evacuated by the German authorities. Only one building was left standing, a burial chapel. This was built in 1937 and is the oldest house still existing in the town.
1989: Hammerfest celebrates its 200th anniversary as a city.
2003: Melkøysund Tunnel is completed connecting the town to the island of Melkøya.
2007: The Snøhvit plant on Melkøya becomes operational in September. It is the biggest industrial development in Northern Norway.
