Trollfjord is located in the beautiful Raftsundet, far east on Austvågøy in Lofoten. The 2.5 km long fjord is only approx. 100 m wide at the mouth, but widens further into the fjord. It is just big enough for Hurtigruten to enter and manage to turn inside the fjord. The Hurtigruten ship MS “Trollfjord” is named after the fjord.

Tall peaks, beautiful waterfalls and old rock formations

Trollfjord is located in an area with high peaks up to 1100 meters, with glaciers on the tops and beautiful waterfalls that end in the fjord. At the heart of the fjord are two hydropower plants that utilize the 178 meter drop from Trollfjordvannet and Jarsteinvannet. The drop is 446 meters from the top to the sea. One of the mountains on the north side of the fjord consists of Monzolith, which is approximately 3.5 billion years old, thus the oldest rock in Norway.

The trolls who lived in Trollfjorden

The name Trollfjorden comes from the legend of the trolls Vågakallen and Hinnøygubben who argued over pasture for their cows at Trollsjøen in Raftsundet. After several quarrels between the trolls, the story ended with Hinnøygubben falling and hitting his ax in the ridge at Raftsundet, creating this beautiful arm of the fjord.

Popular destination

Trollfjord has been photographed, filmed, and painted countless times over the years. When you experience it, you understand why; it is bewitching, cramped, and unruly beautiful – an unparalleled draw in an area that experienced tourism almost before the term was known.

Emperors and celebrities in Trollfjorden

The German Emperor Wilhelm II visited Lofoten as early as 1889 after being inspired by beautiful paintings from Lofoten at an art exhibition in Berlin. The emperor and his entourage visited Lofoten several times, where Trollfjorden and Digermulen were one of the favorites. In Digermulen you can go to Digermulkollen and see the Keiservarden that the emperor had built when he was there. His descriptions from these trips were possibly one of the reasons that helped start the flow of tourists to Lofoten. More than emperors have been inspired by the Trollfjord, because parts of the film “Downsizing” with Matt Damon in the lead role, were filmed there in 2016.

The painting “Trollfjordslaget” by Gunnar Berg

The most famous painting of Trollfjord is “Trollfjordslaget” (The Battle of Trollfjord) by Gunnar Berg. This painting hangs in the Gunnar Berg Gallery on Svinøya in Svolvær and shows the battle in 1890 between fishermen with traditional open rowboats and the larger steamboats.

The dramatic Battle of Trollfjord

The evening before (March 5), representatives of the small boat fishermen had asked the steamboats to help break up the ice that was inside the Trollfjord so that the fishermen could get into the fjord the next day. The steamboats did this, but instead of opening up for the fishermen, they closed the innermost part of the fjord with nets. They demanded payment from the fishermen to let them in. The fishermen would not accept this, and eventually, there was a scuffle between the small boat fishermen and the steamboat crews. Among other things, the fishermen were doused with scalding hot water from the steam boilers on board the seine boats.

The Lofoten Act prohibited the use of nets during Lofoten Fishery

The battle in the Trollfjord subsequently became widely known and involved large sections of the coastal population. The Storting eventually also took action and accelerated work on a new Lofoten Act. In March 1891, the “Stortinget” adopted changes to the Lofoten Act, including banning the use of nets during Lofoten fishery.

Locations: Tour boat operators in Svolvær