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Scandic Nordkapp
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The stone, or North Cape’s first guestbook as it is known, is North Cape’s highest natural point. You now find yourself at 309 meters above sea level and North Cape Hall is built around the stone. Here, guests from all over the world carved their names in order to prove that they had reached Europe’s most northerly point. The oldest inscription uncovered is from 1838. Can you find anything older than that? The most prominent guest who has marked his visit to the North Cape on the Stone is the King of Siam, present-day Thailand. King Rama V the great visited the plateau in 1907 and carved his royal crest into the stone. On the wall, you can see a picture of him and his entourage, and if you go three floors down and through the tunnel you will find a museum solely dedicated to King Rama V. Visitors from around the world choose to throw money on the stone for good luck. The money is collected and donated to the Children of the Earth association.
Let us now retrace the history of the North Cape through old photographs taken in the 19th and 20th centuries. Before the opening of the road in 1856, visitors to the North Cape would come by boat and disembark in Hornvika before climbing the zigzagged path up to the plateau. King Oscar II ascended this very path the day of the unveiling of the Granite Obelisk in 1873. Quickly, it became a tradition to drink champagne by the monument while admiring the beauty of the Midnight Sun. In 1891, Stoppenbrink’s champagne pavilion was built, later replaced by a post office and waiting room in the 1930’s. Through the years, it became clear that for a building to withstand the North Cape climate, it had to become part of the plateau itself and as the road opened, the number of visitors quickly increased and the need for a long lasting building arrived. The North Cape Hall you know today started with a much smaller stone building, which opened in July 1959. Since then, the Hall has undergone many renovations and expansions adapting to both the extreme Arctic weather and the increasing number of travellers wishing to visit the North Cape.
Scharnhorst was a German naval battle cruiser in the Second World War and was considered to be almost invincible. Together with the ships Tirpitz and Gneisenau they posed a constant threat to the Murmansk convoys in the North and Barent seas. On the 26th December 1943, around 60 nautical miles off the North Cape Scharnhorst was sunk by the allied forces of British and Norwegian ships, with the British battleship Duke of York at the helm. The battle of North Cape was the last time that battleships used canons against each other in European waters. The ship had a crew of around 1900 men. But only 36 of them were saved. When the Duke of York returned from Murmansk the crew lowered a wreath into the sea where the Scharnhorst went down. For a long time, the Scharnhorst laid undiscovered on the bottom of the sea before it was found in 2001, 300 meters below sea level. The battle of the Murmansk convoys between 1941 and 1945 caused great losses for both the allies and the Germans. Over 6000 people have their graves at the bottom of the sea as a result of the battle of the convoys.
A few kilometers to the southwest of the North Cape, rises the verdant “Gjesværstappan” Nature Reserve, one of the largest bird cliffs in Norway. Covering 7,1 square kilometers, the reserve is composed of three islands namely, “Storstappen, Kirkstappen and Bukkstappen” The islands of the reserve are abundant in flowers and vegetation thanks to the hundreds of thousands of auks, guillemots, puffins, cormorants, ospreys and several other species who nest here in the summer and fertilize the grounds. Look up! Can you recognize the puffins and their unique and colourful beak? Did you know that they could carry up to a dozen small fish at a time and that year after year, they come back home on the 14th of April precisely? Can you spot their cousins, the guillemot and the razorbill? Both from the auk family, these birds are primarily black with a white underside. Auks tend to form lifelong pairs and typically lay a single egg. Are you able to tell the cormorant apart from the shag? The experienced ornithologist will spot the white patches on the Cormorant thighs and chin. In contrast, the shags display a perfectly black plumage. In the breeding season, the peaked forehead of the shag sports a tufted crest.
A name on the map In 1553, three English ships set out to discover a northeast sea passage to China. In August, Captain Richard Chancellor sailed past the North Cape on the “Edward Bonaventure”. He calculated the position of the cliff and named it the North Cape. The monumental and dramatic cliff had been a strategic geographical point for generations. Thanks to its rocky horn sticking out on the east side, it was easily recognizable from a distance. The two other ships of this expedition tried to overcome the winter of the inhospitable and unforgiving Russian Arctic coast but none of the crew survived. The Bonaventure dropped anchor in Arkangelsk and Richard Chancellor travelled safely home. When inscribing the North Cape on the map for the first time, Richard Chancellor did not see that only a few hundred meters to the west of the cliff, laid the Knivskjellodden peninsula, which in reality, slightly stretched out farther north into the sea. For this reason, the North Cape was long known as the northernmost point of Europe. Now, you may ask yourself, “am I at the real North Cape then?” The answer is yes. There is only one North Cape, the one Richard Chancellor drew on the map in 1553.
“Here I stand at the North Cape, the outermost point of Finnmark. I could even say that this is the end of the entire world, as no point further north is inhabited by people.” The words belong to Francesco Negri, the first recognised visitor of the North Cape that you can see on the left of this diorama. After three years travelling north, this Italian priest, scientist and explorer, finally arrived at destination in 1664. In the centre, stands the carving of Rama V – King of Siam – or Thailand as it is known today:; the stone we like to call the first guestbook of the North Cape. This stone is now on display on the main floor of the North Cape Hall. The young character walking on the right is Prince Louis Philip of Orleans. Soon after the French Revolution, in 1795, the Prince visited the North Cape and lived in the area (he didn’t actually live in Magerøya – he lived in a neighbouring municipality of Måsøy for a while under a false identity before becoming King of France from 1830 to 1848). It is only in 1956 that the road to the North Cape opened, allowing thousands of travellers to walk in the footsteps of our early visitors. Through the thick fog, snowstorms and extreme winds, visiting the North Cape still is an unforgettable adventure.
St John’s Chapel was consecrated on Midsummer Day on the 24th of June 1990. This ecumenical and interdenominational sanctuary only displays the three symbols recognised by all the Christian denominations: the dove, the cross and Christ. Regardless of one’s faith or spirituality, every soul can find peace and contemplation in the quietness of this discreet and withdrawn alcove. The music you are now listening to, was exclusively composed for our chapel by the famous Norwegian jazz musician Jan Garbarek who harmoniously blended saxophone and traditional religious sonorities. On occasion, St. John’s Chapel is used for baptisms and weddings by the local people of the island or travelers fascinated by its uniqueness and singularity. Between these rock walls, nestled in the stone of the North Cape cliff, sits the world's northernmost chapel. Now would be a good time to sit back, rest a little and reflect on all the way you have come to get here, to the end of the world.
The Thai museum recounts the second tour of His Majesty King Rama V - Chulalongkorn through Europe and eventually Norway in 1907. That year on the 12th of July, His Majesty visited the North Cape and carved his signature into the Stone that is currently exposed in the entrance hall. He was the first King from Southeast Asia to travel to Europe. From his two grand tours, he brought back ideas to modernise his country and greatly improved diplomatic relationships with European countries and their leaders. The reign of this visionary King was an age of reform for the Kingdom of Siam, now Thailand. A state railway network was built and a telecommunication system put in place. He also initiated public education and healthcare systems for the benefit of his people. Most of all, the King announced the Slave Abolition Act and is one of Thailand’s most loved and revered Monarchs. Why this colour you may ask… pink is traditionally a lucky colour for Tuesday, the day of the week King Chulalongkorn was born, and therefore it serves as background colour for the recollection of the King’s adventures through Norway.
The character leading the way on the left is King Oscar II of the Norway-Sweden Union climbing from Hornvika on the 2nd of July 1873. During his visit, the King unveiled Oscarstøtten, in order to mark the northern frontier of the Union. In 1977, the granite monument was relocated and replaced by the iconic Globe. Oscarstøtten is now facing the Knivsjellodden peninsula on the west side of the North Cape Hall. Until the opening of the road in 1956, the only way to visit the North Cape was to disembark in Hornvika, about one kilometer southeast of the cape itself and make your way up a steep and thorny trail. All you required was strength and determination. Unless you had put your fanciest dress on for the occasion and hired local fishermen to carry you all the way up. The abrupt path up from Hornvika still exists and it takes approximately one hour to go both ways. Are you ready for an adventure?