The Bugoynes village is also called Little Finland

Bugoynes is one of the few places in Norwegian Lapland where the Finnish language is used daily by many of its 220 residents. Elsa Ingila Haldorsen is one of them. She even wants the whole village to become a UNESCO world heritage site.

The picturesque village even has a friendship association in Helsinki Finland. The village is often named Pikku Suomi (Little Finland) among Finnish speaking. The Finnish name of the village is Pykeija. Finnish culture is living side by side with the Norwegian and Lapland cultures. Even the Finnair choir has been here during a fishing festival. See left picture.

Pykeija is a fishing community in the very most northeastern tip of Norway, in the municipality of Sor-Varanger in the province of Finnmark or Norwegian Lapland, on the shores of the Varanger Fjord (Varangerfjorden in Norwegian) which is a part of the Arctic Ocean.

Industries include fishing, salmon farming, king crab and other fish processing as well as the processing of reindeer meat and game. There is also a slipway and machine workshops.

Sights

The Pleym Pier. The restored piers date back to the 19th century with an exhibition showing old coastal culture. Open on request.

The Lassi House (Norwegian: Lassigaarden) is culture house dating back to the 1850s. Today it is used as a museum and houses the public library.

The Ranvika Bird Sanctuary. The largest bird sanctuary in the Sor-Varanger area is a 90 minutes' walk from the village. The footpath is well marked.


(All photos: Olav E. Johansen)

The King Crab. They also catch and process the delicious red king crab, which can weigh up to 12 kg.

Read some more about the king crab. (Opens in new window)

Winter bathing

has become very popular here. Thousands of people from all over the world come to the Vestersand beach to have a dip in the Arctic ocean.

Read more about ice bathing at Bugoynes. See this winter bathing video.

Read a little more about Bugoynes.

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