Lofoten means the foot of a Lynx, from the old Swedish for lynx - lo and the old Norse for foot - fotr. Early on it was the name for Vestvågøy island only, now it is used for the whole archipelago. Lofoten has been inhabited for at least 6000 years. Traces of the earliest stone age inhabitants include cave paintings, stone carvings and burial mounds. At that time Lofoten was covered with pine and birch forest. There were deer, bears, reindeer, beavers and of course lynx in the forests. Then as today there were fish, seals and whales in the sea. Grain was cultivated already 4000 years ago.

Today a visit to Lofoten is a visit to a modern society with a highly developed infrastructure, modern fishing fleet and processing industry for fish, a well developed school system and a community with extensive contacts with the rest of the world.

In the six municipal areas Lofoten consists of there are 25 000 people. Vestvågøy island is the biggest with 11 000 inhabitants, and Røst the smallest with 652.

As the rest of rural northern Norway Lofoten the society is struggling with an ageing population and young people leaving to get an education and never coming back. Lofoten hospital is at Gravdal, in the centre of Vetsvågøy, there is a senior high school at Leknes, in Kabelvåg and in Svolvær. In Kabelvåg there is an art and film school. Leknes and Svolvær have a wide variety of shops including a state wine monopoly shop. The only place to buy wine and spirits outside barns and restaurants.

You will find plenty of art and culture in Lofoten. From traditional blacksmiths with new artistic developments through potteries and glass blowers to art galleries and museums. Lofoten has been, and is still a popular destination for artists from Norway as well as from other countries.

Some places you will see factory ships where the fishing and processing of the fish is fully automated. But the mainstay of the fishing fleet consists of smaller traditional fishing boats with a crew of up to three people. 2002 was a very good year for the traditional cod fisheries in Lofoten- About 40.000 tonnes of fish was brought ashore during the hectic winter season.Still the future of the cod fisheries remain bleak, as marine biologists claim the cod is about to disappear. Failure of the fisheries is what all of Lofoten fears the most. But the future of the fisheries is not all dependent of the cod. Fish farming is on the increase in Lofoten.Agriculture is now restricted to a little milk and meat. But the Lofoten lamb is a popular quality product.

Tourism becoming increasingly important as the tourist season gradually increases. About 220 000 people come to Lofoten every year. But despite the considerable number, Lofoten is never crowded. And Kvalnes has very few tourists at all.

People in Lofoten talk about the weather as "he". That they have a close personal relationship with the weather is quite understandable given their dependence on extreme weather conditions for their living through the ages.