The Kingdom of Norway (Norge in Norwegian) is one of the world's most maritime nations. The country is long and narrow, with drowned valleys called fjords that bring the sea far inland in most regions. The mainland coast is estimated to be 2650 km (1650 mi) long and when all the islands and minor indentations are counted the total coastline approaches an astonishing 60,000 km (37,500 mi), long enough the go around the world one and a half times. With such a lengthy and rocky shore it's not surprising that Norway has a large number of lighthouses. Norway is divided into counties (fylker) and the counties are divided into townships (kommuner). This page lists lighthouses of the Tromsø township in the former (and future) Troms County on the northern coast of Norway. This entire county is well north of the Arctic Circle. Nonetheless it is well populated with Tromsø being its largest port. In 2020 Troms and Finnmark Counties were merged to form Troms og Finnmark County. This merger was not popular and it proved unworkable due to the large area of the merged county. In June 2022 parliament decided to reverse the merger effective 1 January 2024. In Norwegian a lighthouse is a fyrtårn (fire tower) or simply a fyr; a fyrlykt is a beacon and a lyktehus is a lantern. Øy is an island, holmen is an islet, skjær is a skerry (a tiny island or rocky reef), sund is a strait (often between an island and the mainland), bukt is a bay, nes is a headland, and havn is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Norway are maintained by the Kystverket (Coast Directorate), an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. NF numbers are from the Norsk Fyrliste. Admiralty numbers are from volume L of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 115.
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![]() Tønsnes Light, Tromsø, June 2012 ex-Panoramio photo copyright Arno Siering; used by permission |
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![]() Hansneset Light, Tromsø, 2006 Kystverket photo (no longer online) |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Northern Troms | South: Southern Troms
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted August 3, 2006. Checked and revised September 19, 2023. Lighthouses: 40. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.