Vågan

Vågan is a municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway.

The main population centres are the town of Svolvær and the villages of Kabelvåg and Henningsvær. All three have a picturesque situation under the rugged Lofoten mountains, facing the rough body of water called Vestfjorden . Kabelvåg is the oldest fishing village in Lofoten, where King Øystein built the first fishing shacks in the early 12th c. The Lofoten Cathedral, built in 1898, seats 1200 people, and used to be filled to the last seat during the Lofoten fishing in the Winter. Henningsvær has a picturesque situation on several islands, and is today more important for fishing. Svolvær is today the municipal centre, and has an impressive number of artists' studios and galleries.