Hammerfest, Norway Cruises

Hammerfest, Norway Cruise Port

• Despite the rugged-looking terrain, getting to the top of Mount Salen is fairly easy. Only about a 10-minute walk from the Hammerfest town center, taking the well-worn path up the mountain rewards with views of the town below, the Sørøysundet sound, and Håja and Hjelmen islands.
   
• The polar bear has been a long-standing resident to the area, and the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society celebrates this. Because the town has the polar bear as its mascot and on its crest, the Polar Bear Club put together this display of mementos, photos, paintings, and various other historical items geared mostly toward travelers.
   
• Although far from being the original church to stand in this spot (the previous one was burned by the Germans during WWII), Hammerfest Church is a popular draw for its unique shape and gorgeous stained-glass windows.
   
• Just across the harbor on the Fuglenes peninsula is the called Meridianstøtta or Meridian Monument. The monument commemorates the first survey done here by Russian scientist Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve; the globe on top of the marble column is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site's chain of survey triangulations called the Struve Geodetic Arc.