The area around Kirkenes was a common Norwegian-Russian district until 1826, when the current border was settled. The original name of the peninsula was Piselvnes, but was changed to Kirkenes when Kirkenes Church was built in 1862.
Only a few families lived in Kirkenes in 1906 when iron ore was discovered nearby. This led to the establishment of the mining company AS Sydvaranger, and within a few years the population had increased to 8,000. People moved here from far and wide to work here. In addition to Norwegian and Sami, Finnish, Russian, Swedish, English and German were widely spoken here. Kirkenes was a major supplier of raw materials for artillery during the First World War.
In 1908, Kirkenes became the northern turning point for Hurtigruten, which has transported visitors and freight to Kirkenes ever since.
There were major changes in the region during the war for Finnish independence and the establishment of the Soviet Union. The most notable events in Kirkenes were the general strike and political uprising of 1928. Over 1,300 refugees crossed the Pasvik River to Kirkenes during the Finnish-Soviet Winter War in December 1939.
Less than a year later, in July 1940, Kirkenes was occupied by German forces, and up to 100,000 soldiers were stationed there. In the summer of 1941, northeastern Norway became the area of the German attack on the Soviet Union, with the nearby port city of Murmansk as the main target.
As a result, little Kirkenes was one of the most bombed places in Europe during World War II, with at least 320 devastating Soviet raids. Historians claim that Malta suffered more damage from bombings. The worst attack took place on July 4, 1944, when 140 homes were set ablaze after a massive Soviet air raid.
In the autumn of 1944, the German army finally withdrew from the Murmansk front. Finland withdrew from its alliance with Germany, and it became impossible to hold Finnmark. The Germans withdrew and burned most of the remaining buildings in the area. On 25 October 1944, Kirkenes was the first town in Norway to be liberated by the Red Army, and the soldiers were given a hero's welcome by the local population.
During the bombing raids, people sought safety in Andersgrotta, a bomb shelter in the city center, which is now a small museum. Near the city is a memorial to 11 freedom fighters, who helped the partisans gather information about the German occupation. At one point, more than 7,000 Soviet prisoners of war were held in harsh conditions in more than 80 prisons and prison camps in and around Kirkenes.
Only 13 houses in Kirkenes survived the war. Not even the church that gave rise to the town's name survived. It stood almost until the end of the war, but in 1944 it was subjected to heavy bombing and burned to the ground. However, the original church spire survived, and was incorporated into the new church, a traditional long-plan design in the form of a basilica, which was completed in 1959.
Kirkenes was rebuilt after the war with the help of Marshall Aid from the United States. As part of the reconstruction, Kirkenes became the first city in Northern Norway to have its streets sealed.
After a strong post-war period, the iron market declined in the 1990s, and the Sydvaranger mining company was closed in 1996, leading to major changes in Kirkenes.
Aug. 1965
In 1993, the Kirkenes Declaration was signed, and the Barents Euro-Arctic Region was formalized as a cooperation between the northernmost parts of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Northwestern Russia. The core idea is “people-to-people cooperation” across borders, especially with Russia after the end of the Cold War. Home to 70 different nationalities and ethnic groups, Kirkenes is considered the Barents Region in miniature.
During the Cold War, the border near Kirkenes was the only two borders between NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Soviet Union (the other was in Turkey), while for much of the 1990s it was the only border between Russia and NATO.
Kirkenes Airport at Høybuktmoen was built as a military air station by the Luftwaffe during the war. Civilian services were introduced after the war, but abandoned in 1948. The airport reopened in 1963 with a new terminal and an extended runway. While most flights are from Oslo, Tromsø and regional destinations, Kirkenes has international charter flights to take tourists on the Hurtigruten cruise.
Although Kirkenes has a fascinating history, it remained a settlement until 1998 when it finally received city status.