Arctic communities of Magerøya island as an example of reconstruction of early spatial structures and reactivation of local communities

Ewa Cisek

doi:10.5277/arc150107

Abstract

The article regards the reconstructed and innovative architecture of the northernmost region of Norway – Finnmark whose settlement structure was completely destroyed by German occupiers in the winter of 1944/1945. In the years 1947–1960 activities were started with a view to reconstruct and rebuild former arctic settlements which had previously been burned down. Perfect examples illustrating the reconstruction and development of the early structures are places situated in Magerøya island: Honningsvåg, Gjesvær, Kamøyvær i Skarsvåg. The architects reconstructed their cluster development organisation which focused around an ordering function, i.e. church/chapel and port and additionally enriching the layouts by new elements. These places at further stages of their development were given the name of thematic villages – cultural objects, eco-museums and thosepresenting history, culture, fauna and flora of a given region.

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