The Kven People

Varanger, in particular Vadsø, is the centre for Kven culture. The Kvens are a group of people who originated from the northern Baltic Sea areas of Finland and Sweden, but who emigrated to Varanger. The oldest written accounts about Kvens are from the end of the 8th century. Later the term Kven was used for all those of Finnish stock who emigrated to Finnmark and northern Troms between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The Tuomainen farm in Vadsø is a good starting point to find out about the Kvens. It is part of Vadsø museum-Ruija kvenmuseum and is a renovated kven farm dating from around 1840 with a house, barn, stable, sauna, bakery, shop and smithy. The museum also houses an exhibition about the seafaring Kven.

Fishing in Ruija

The opportunities for fishing were one of the main reasons why the Kven moved to the Varanger area. For many centuries, the Arctic Ocean had been a place where the Kven had seasonally resided. Almost every family went north in the winter to fish and returned home in the summer or autumn. They told stories of the coastal area they called Ruija.

When people think of the Kven, they often think of saunas and a strict religion, but there is much more to them than just that. The Kven were known as prolific fishermen, farmers and businessmen and have been important for the Varanger region. Finnish/Kvenish is still a living language here among the older generations, and now many children choose to learn Finnish at school.