Nordkapp

(North Cape) is a 307 m (1007 ft) high cliff rising above the Arctic Ocean, located in Finnmark county in Norway. It is the northernmost point in Europe reachable by car, and the northernmost place connected with the international road network. Some 200,000 tourists visit annually, during the two to three months of summer. The town Honningsvåg is 34 km south of Nordkapp, 30 minutes drive by car. Note that Nordkapp and the road leading to it are closed in winter.

Nordkapp is promoted as the northernmost point of Europe, this is however not true. The neighboring point

Knivskjellodden

is actually 1,457 m (4780 ft) further north.

The midnight sun may be enjoyed 14 May–29 July, unless it is a cloudy night.

Nordkapp – The North Cape, the North Cape Horn has always been a well-known and important point of orientation for all boats and ships navigating the area. The rock has had a great variety of names and it was only in the mid 16th century that it was given the present name.

In 1553 an English commander, Richard Chancellor passed Nordkapp and named the cliff as Nordkapp, the North Cape. From that time, it has been called Nordkapp. At that time it wasn't exactly the center of interest. But only 100 years later, the first "tourist" was reported to have climbed up to the plateau. He was an Italian priest named Francesco Negri. It took him more than two years to go from Italy on foot, by boat, on horseback, on sleighs, and on skis. In 1664, finally having reached his destination, he noted in his travel log: "Here I am now on the North Cape, at the extreme tip of Finnmark, really at the end of the world"

In the 18th and 19th centuries, a journey to Nordkapp was still an adventure – and an expensive one at that. One needed an own ship, to rent one with crew or to arrange an expedition through hundreds of kilometers of wilderness. This is why there were quite a few high-ranking people among the first tourists: Prince Louise Phillippe of Orleans, Oscar the second, King of Norway and Sweden, King Chualalonkorn of Thailand. He got his name and date carved into a rock on the top of the plateau. This rock can be seen in the Panorama hall in front of the souvenir shop. And Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was here also.

In 1875, London Travel agent Thomas Cook organized the first group travel to Nordkapp for 24 participants. At that time traveling to Nordkapp was very different compared to how it is now. There was no road leading across the island to the plateau. Travelers were taken by rowing boat from Skarsvåg or Gjesvær to Hornvika, just below the north cape. From there they had to climb up the steep and rocky ravine, to reach the height of the plateau. The first modest wooden buildings started to appear to the plateau. One of those was a hut Stoppenbrink's Champagne Pavilion.