The Kjøttvik-cairn

The Kjøttvik-cairn.
Photo by Geir Jenssen. (Thanks for giving me permission to use the picture!)
Copyright Geir Jenssen  - visit his website to see beautiful pictures from Sørøya!

The Kjøttvik-cairn is situated at the north end of Sørøya, and on a clear day one can actually see it as a forefinger against the sky from Hammerfest. It is over 11 metres high, and rises at the top of the mountain Kjøttvikfjellet. This mountain is 320 metres high and belongs to the county of Hammerfest.

The cairn is special - as opposed to other seamarks which are placed on islets and skerries by the sea - this one is placed on the highest mountain top in the area. There are no other seamarks in the country that have a placing like that. It was built in the 1850's, and in spite of no supervision and maintenance it has defied both wind and weather. The cairn also survived the devastation by the Germans, and is therefore one of the oldest buildings remaining after the destroyal of Finnmark in 1944.

Under the leadership of Ole Gammelsen Mork, it was a group of workers from Sunnmøre who built The Kjøttvik-cairn. The seamark was to be "16 ell high, 12 ell broad and 8 ell thick" (source: a letter from Ole Gammelsen Mork to his friend Aarflot in Volda).

The cairn has during decades been a popular aim for walking tours - especially for the population at the north end of Sørøya. If you want to visit the cairn, you can go by the passenger-boat of Finnmark Fylkesrederi and Ruteselskap from Hammerfest to Akkarfjord. From Akkarfjord you must walk about 2-3 hours in beautiful terrain to Tarhalsen - and there the cairn towers at the top of the mountain Kjøttvikfjellet at 70 degrees 52 minutes northern latitude.

Source: "Øyfolk" - Yearbook for Hammerfest 1995