Editing Vadsø Municipality (section)

==History==
In the 16th century, the settlement of Vadsø consisted of a [[fishing village]] and the old [[Vadsø Church]], located on the island of [[Vadsøya]]. The settlement later moved to the mainland. [[Pomor trade]] led Vadsø to be a major trading centre in this part of Norway. [[Town privileges|Township privilege]] was granted in 1833, and soon settlers came from [[Finland]] and the northern part of [[Sweden]], which suffered from [[famine]].

[[Finnish language|Finnish]] was rapidly becoming the language of the majority, and this continued for decades. As of 2016, [[Finnish language|Finnish]] is still spoken in some households. During the [[occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]], Vadsø suffered several air raids from the [[Soviet Union]], which bombed German troops. However, there are, unlike most places in Finnmark, a number of 19th century wooden houses preserved close to the city centre, notably the house of Esbensen, built by a Norwegian, and the house of Tuomainen, built by a Finn. On the island of Vadsøya is the airship mast used by [[Umberto Nobile]] and [[Roald Amundsen]] for their expedition over the [[North Pole]] with the airship [[Norge (airship)|''Norge'']] in 1926, and used again on Nobile's flight with the airship [[Airship Italia|''Italia'']] in 1928.<ref name="snl" />