Troms (fylke), Norway — Towns & Travel Guide

What is Troms known for?

It is known as a fylke of northern Norway, deep in the Nord-Norge region and carried in Sámi as Romssa fylka, a stretch of country that lies well above the rest of the nation. The county sits in the north-eastern part of Norway, far from the southern centres. North, and then further north.

Where is Troms?

Troms is a far-northern county, a fylke of the Nord-Norge region set deep in the north-eastern part of Norway. The north defines it. The county lies well within the polar belt of northern Norway, a broad expanse of high country whose position above most of the nation shapes everything from its long light to its long distances.

Far north, and then some. Its reach is large. Troms spreads across a wide stretch of the far north, the kind of expanse that makes the county feel like a region in itself rather than a tidy district.

Known in Sámi as Romssa fylka, it occupies the northern edge of the country, where northern Norway runs toward the top of the mainland. The land sits high above the southern centres, deep in the Nord-Norge region. North, breadth, and distance: that is the geography of Troms.

What is Troms like?

Troms carries the culture of the far north. The county belongs to the Nord-Norge region, and its Sámi name, Romssa fylka, marks the deep Sámi heritage woven through this part of northern Norway alongside the Norwegian communities of the high north. Two languages, one north.

Life here is shaped by the far north. The county's communities have grown in the demanding light and distance of the high north, giving Troms a northern character distinct from the southern parts of Norway. The Sámi presence runs through the fylke, reflected in the very name Romssa fylka, and the Nord-Norge region frames an identity built on the rhythms of the high north.

Between Norwegian and Sámi tradition, Troms holds the layered culture of northern Norway.

What is the history of Troms?

Troms took shape as a county in 1919. The fylke of northern Norway has carried its name through the changes of the country's administrative map, holding its place in the Nord-Norge region of the far north. Its Sámi roots run deeper still.

The name Romssa fylka reflects the long Sámi presence in this northern stretch of Norway, a heritage older than any modern county line. The county endures as a distinct northern unit.

What is the climate of Troms?

Troms has a far-northern climate. Lying within the polar belt of northern Norway, the county runs to long, dark winters and bright, brief summers, the far-northern reach of the Nord-Norge region driving the extremes of light and cold across the fylke. Winter holds the dark.

The far-northern position, the same that gives the county its Sámi name Romssa fylka, sets a sharp seasonal rhythm unlike the milder south of Norway. Snow lies long in the high north.

How do you get to Troms?

Troms lies far north. Reaching the county means a long haul into northern Norway, since the fylke sits deep in the Nord-Norge region well above the southern centres of the country. The far north takes effort.

Because Troms, known in Sámi as Romssa fylka, spreads across a wide northern expanse, the way in depends on which part of the county you are bound for. Plan the approach to the high north.