Vadsø kommune (nordsamisk: Čáhcesuolu gielda, kvensk: Vesisaaren komuuni)
Den grenser i nord til Båtsfjord, i nordøst til Vardø og i vest til Tana og Nesseby, og møter Berlevåg i ett punkt i nordvest. Sør for Varangerfjorden ligger Sør-Varanger kommune. Foruten byen Vadsø, dekker kommunen tettstedet Vestre Jakobselv samt Kariel i vest, og Kiby, Golnes, Ekkerøy,Krampenes og Skallelv i øst.
Vadsø har hatt bystatus siden 1833, og er administrasjonssentrum i Finnmark. Det bor 5 116 innbyggere i byen og vel 1 000 spredt i stedene øst og vest for byen hvor tettstedet Vestre Jakobselv er det største med 550 innbyggere per 1. januar 2013[1].
Byen har hatt betydelig innvandring fra Finland på 1800-tallet, og datidens innvandring kan tydelig sees idag gjennom den finske kultur og en rekke finske etternavn blant innbyggerne. På grunn av den betydelige innvandringen fra Finland, betegner mange Vadsø som «kvenhovedstaden».
Avisa Finnmarken kommer ut i Vadsø seks dager i uka.
Vadsø kommune ligger på Varangerhalvøya hvor man har lett tilgang til godt rypeterreng og fiske etter laks og ørret. Varangerfjorden er rik på fiskeslag som torsk, sei, hyse, steinbit og laks, og dessuten på kongekrabbe.
ENGLISH
Vadsø is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vadsø, which is also the administrative centre of Finnmark county. Other settlements in Vadsø include Ekkerøy, Kiby, Krampenes, Skallelv, Valen, and Vestre Jakobselv.
The village of Vadsø was granted town status in 1833. In 1838, the town of Vadsø and the entire rural district surrounding the Varangerfjorden were established as the new municipality of Vadsø. The law required that all towns should be separated from their rural districts, but because of a low population and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for the municipality of Vadsø in 1838. In 1839, the western district was separated to become the new municipality of Nesseby. Then in 1858, Nesseby was merged back into Vadsø, and on the same date, the southern district of Vadsø (south of the Varangerfjorden) was separated to form the new municipality of Sør-Varanger. A few years later in 1864, the western district of Nesseby was separated into a separate municipality once again. In 1894, the rest of the rural district surrounding the town of Vadsø was separated to form the new municipality of Nord-Varanger. This left just the town of Vadsø left in the municipality of Vadsø. This remained the case until 1 January 1964, when the municipality of Nord-Varanger was merged back together with the town of Vadsø to form the present-day Vadsø Municipality.
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. Township privilege was granted in 1833, and soon settlers came from Finland and the northern part of Sweden, which suffered from famine. Finnish was rapidly becoming the language of the majority, and this continued for decades. Even today 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 in 1926, and used again on Nobile's flight with the airship Italia in 1928.