| Architect |
Paul Cappelen
and Torbjørn Rodah (1958); Arnstein Arnebergs arkitektkontor (1990) |
| Date Built |
1958 - 1990 |
| Location |
NordKapp |
| Description |
|
The North Cape is a mountain
plateau with steep rock faces straight
down into the Barents Sea some 300m below.
It is very close to being the northernmost
point in Europe.   There has been a
visitor's. centre at the North Cape
since the 1950s but that building
wasn't capable of addressing the
growing number of visitors and the
expectations they had. In the
1980s it was closed and the
existing building was both extended
and added to. The circular
building you can see below is the
centre's restaurant topped with a
white spherical telecommunications
installation.
 The rock below the
restaurant was excavated to make
way for a circular cinema, a large
grotto with a bar and a huge window in
the rock face. There is also a
small ecumenical chapel dedicated to
St. John.
   The Visitor's Centre also has an exhibition of historical memorabilia including the plaque below.  The plaque records
that - "Ninety miles north-west
of this spot in the Arctic night
of 26th December 1943 in a full
gale, units of the British Home
Fleet, including HNoMS Stord,
under the command of Admiral Sir
Bruce Fraser engaged and sank the
German battle-cruiser Scharnhorst
in the Battle of North Cape."
The Stord was a destroyer built for the British Royal Navy but in 1943 it was transferred to the exiled Royal Norwegian Navy. The globe monument stands on the plateau close to the edge of the cliff. North Cape is claimed to be the northernmost point of Europe being 71 10"21" north. However, Knivskjellodden in Norway is actually 71 11"48" north so mareginally closer to the pole.  |
|
|
Nordkaphallen,
Finnmark, Norway
 |
