Where to stay in Borkenes
Most beds in Borkenes gather in the small town centre, where the rooms and guest houses stand close to the fjord shore, the harbour and the streets near Kvæfjord kirke, within reach of the waterfront and the parish church above the Kvæfjord water. The centre suits travellers who want the coastal town and the fjord on the doorstep. It is the obvious base.
Toward the museums of Trastad Samlinger and the old trading quay of Hemmestad brygge, quieter rooms serve visitors drawn to the collections and the shore of the district. Beds are few here. Across the wider Kvæfjord country, holiday houses and farm stays spread among the fjord farms, a base for travellers touring the coast of the south-western part of Troms by car.
Reserve well ahead in the bright summer months, when the long northern daylight and the fjord shore draw visitors to this coastal corner of northern Norway.
About Borkenes
What is Borkenes known for?
Borkenes is the centre of the Kvæfjord district in the south-western part of Troms. Kvæfjord kirke is the chief landmark, an old heritage church that marks the parish above the fjord shore. The fjord shaped the place.
The town keeps its museums close to the water, in the art and museum collection of Trastad Samlinger and the old trading quay of Hemmestad brygge, which hold the memory of this coastal corner of Troms.
What are the main landmarks in Borkenes?
Kvæfjord kirke stands above the fjord shore. The old heritage church marks the parish centre and gives the streets of Borkenes their fixed point over the water. Museums sit by the shore.
The art and museum collection of Trastad Samlinger keeps the local art and the district story, while the old trading quay of Hemmestad brygge holds the memory of the coastal trade of the Kvæfjord country in the south-western part of Troms.
What is the history of Borkenes?
Borkenes grew on the shore of the Kvæfjord, in the south-western part of Troms. The settlement gathered where the fjord farms met the water, and the old church of Kvæfjord kirke rose above the shore to serve the parish of the coastal district, a heritage building that still marks the centre of the town. Fjord and farm carried the place.
The trade of the coast put in at the quay, and the old trading building of Hemmestad brygge survives from the days when the boats carried the goods of the Kvæfjord country. The shore held the town through the years that followed. Borkenes settled into its role as the centre of the Kvæfjord district, drawing the fjord farms and the coastal parish together above the water.
The collection of Trastad Samlinger came to keep the art and the local memory, while Kvæfjord kirke held its place as the old heart of the parish, binding the fjord shore and the farms of this south-western corner of Troms in northern Norway.
Where is Borkenes?
Borkenes lies on the shore of the Kvæfjord, in the south-western part of Troms, in northern Norway. The town stands where the fjord farms meet the water, the centre gathered above the shore around Kvæfjord kirke. Fjord and farmland frame the town.
Beyond the built-up edge the Kvæfjord country spreads along the shore and into the farms, a coastal district of fjord water and low fields in this south-western corner of Troms.
What is the climate of Borkenes?
Borkenes has the mild, wet coastal climate of the northern Norwegian seaboard. Winters stay milder than the far-north position suggests, the water of the Kvæfjord holding the worst of the cold off the town through the dark months. Summers are cool and long-lit.
The fjord that fronts the shore tempers the heat under the midnight daylight, while cloud and rain off the open coast reach this corner of the south-western part of Troms across the seasons.
How do you get to Borkenes?
Borkenes sits on the coastal road through the Kvæfjord district. The main road carries the traffic of the coast, and the town lies along the shore route of the south-western part of Troms. Most arrive by road.
Drivers reach Borkenes along the fjord-side road and the coastal links of the district, a journey of fjord shore and low farmland through this corner of northern Norway.