Brønnøysund – Norway’s midpoint of myths and mountains

At the foot of the mythical Torghatten, a Viking chieftain once established a thriving trading post. But the village was razed in 1240, during the Norwegian civil wars, when nobleman Skule Bårdsson tried to seize power from his son-in-law King Haakon.

The area slowly recovered, resettled by Norwegians from the south and waves of Swedish immigrants in the 19th century. Their influence can still be heard today in Brønnøysund’s distinctive dialect, touched by Swedish intonation. Brønnøysund remains a quiet corner of coastal Norway, shaped by its history and connection to the sea.

Offshore, the little-changed Vega Archipelago offers a glimpse into the fisher-farmer lifestyle that has endured here for over a thousand years. Islanders still build small wooden houses for nesting eider ducks, collecting the down once the birds have flown. The feathers are used to fill duvets that have been treasured by the rich since the 14th century.

This remarkable tradition, which earned the archipelago UNESCO status in 2004, helped shape the community’s way of life — and still does.

A thousand years ago, the hole in the centre of Torghatten mountain was such an enigma the Vikings believed it was created by magic. In their legends they wrote of a troll named Hestmannen who caught sight of a beautiful girl called Lekamøya as she was baking lefse, a traditional flatbread, in the evening light. He rode towards her, but she fled in terror.

Realising he was about to lose her, Hestmannen fired an arrow at the girl’s heart, but the troll-king Sømna – who had been watching from afar – threw his hat into the arrow’s path to save Lekamøya from certain death. At that moment, the sun rose and the hat, pierced by the arrow, turned to stone.

Today, Torghatten – meaning “square hat” – stands as an eternal reminder of this battle of trolls.

Posted out on a peninsula, Brønnøysund is exposed to the elements, so expect a fickle mix of rain, wind and sun. Winters are wet and unfold under twilight skies, with a maximum of 3.5 hours of daylight in December and January, but then the Earth pivots and summer shoos away the darkness and cold.

Sitting just south of the Arctic Circle, Brønnøysund falls an hour short of experiencing the full Midnight Sun, but still doles out an impressive 23 hours of daylight – meaning you can watch the sun dip below the horizon and then rise again almost immediately.