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Tromsø is rather famous in Norway for having a lot of snow in the winter, although this varies a lot from one year to the next. In the winter of 1996/97 a new all time record was set April 29 1997 when the meteorological station on top of Tromsøya could - with some difficulty - record 240 cm of snow. The coldest temperature ever recorded is -18.4°C, and the January average is a mere -4°C. This is due to the warming effects of the North Atlantic Drift, an extension of the Gulfstream. The proximity to the sea moderates temperatures; Sommarøy on the west coast of Kvaløya has January average of -1.9°C.
Then again, summer is rather cool, with a July 24-hr average of 12°C; daytime temperatures are usually slightly warmer, but varies a lot (from 9 to 25°C). In the summer of 1972 the temperature made 30°C ([1]).
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Settlement of the Tromsø area goes back to the end of the ice age. Einar Østmo reports this region as having Corded Ware culture remains. This is the late Neolithic into the early bronze age. During the iron age, the outer coast off Tromsø was settled by both Norse and Sami people, whereas the inland areas of Tromsø Municipality was all Sami.
The first church was built in Russia.
Tromsø was issued its city charter in Tromsø Museum (1872) and the Mack Brewery (1877).
 Tromsø Cathedral
Tromsø Cathedral
Arctic hunting, from Bordeaux. In 1803 Tromsø became the seat of a Bishop, and in 1848, a teachers' training college was relocated to Tromsø. By the end of the 19th century, Tromsø had become a major Arctic trade centre from which many Arctic expeditions originated, explorers like Roald Amundsen, Umberto Nobile and Fridtjof Nansen made use of the know-how in Tromsø on the conditions in the Arctic, and often recruited their crew in the city. The Northern lights observatory was founded in 1927.
During World War II it served briefly as the seat of Norwegian government. However, the city escaped the war without any damage, although the German battleship Tirpitz was sunk off the Tromsøy Island on November 12, 1944, when close to 1000 German soldiers died. At the end of the war, the city received thousands of refugees from the Finnmark province, which had been devastated by German forces at the time.
Expansion after World War II has been rapid. The airport opened in Oslo in 1998. Tromsø Airport served 1,447,000 passengers in 2004.
The population growth has been strong, some years more than 1000 people; in 1964 the present municipal borders were created through unification of several boroughs. Then the city had some 32,000 inhabitants, practically doubled today at 63,000. At present the growth is slowing slightly.
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Tromsø is the home of many football clubs, of which the three most prominent are Polar Night Half marathon in January.
The city is also home to many clubs in the top division in various Norwegian sports. Most notably Tromsø Storm in the BK Tromsø in the top Tromsø Volley in the top volleyball league for women.
Winter sport enthusiasts appreciate the Ski station, situated 10 km outside the city centre, in a suburb. From the southern to the northern tip of the Tromsø Island, there is a floodlit cross country ski track. A ski jump is also situated on the island, close to the university.
Tromsø had announced a bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. This is considered an interesting idea to many sports fans, seeing as Tromsø would be the first city north of the Arctic Circle to host the games and would be unique in many of its accommodations, among them the use of ships as the media village. However, the Norwegian government still has yet to officially support Tromsø's bid. Thus, Tromsø will not be a candidate in 2014, although it is considering a bid for 2018.
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The city centre is the biggest concentration of historic wooden houses north of Tromsø Cathedral (Norway's only wooden cathedral, built in 1861), the Sverre Mack in 1921. The Tromsø Museum is a University museum, presenting culture and nature of Northern Norway. The little Polar Museum presents Tromsø's past as a centre for Arctic hunting and starting point for polar expeditions, and is situated in a wharf house from 1837.
The mountain Tromsdalstinden on the mainland, which is easily spotted from the city center, is often used as a landmark for Tromsø.
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Famous people who come from the city include:
Geir Jenssen, musician
Peter Wessel Zapffe, author and philosopher
Erik Skjoldbjaerg, director
Jorgen Dreyer, sculptor
Einar Hoidale, lawyer and democrat, US Congressman
Lene Marlin, pop-music artist
Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland the musicians in the band Röyksopp that is in the electronic music genre
Anneli Drecker and the band Bel Canto, also in the electronic music genre.
Cora Sandel, writer
Arthur Arntzen, writer and entertainer
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Hotels in Norway - Tromso >>
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