Måstad, Værøy

Nordland · Norway · Abandoned site

King Maar is said to have owned unimaginably many cattle on this shelf beneath the thousand-metre wall — the village's own answer to why anyone lived in an impossible place.

Måstad lies on the outer side of Værøy in Lofoten, wedged between the cliffs and the sea, without a road and without a harbour — and the district had a legend to explain the inexplicable. It tells of King Maar of Måstad, who is said to have owned unimaginably many cattle out here; his wealth was the answer to the question of why anyone lived in such an impossible place at all. The reality was leaner. Life rested on fishing, a handful of patches of field and the catching of puffins on thousand-metre mountainsides, with the strange Lundehund — six-toed and supple as a snake — as an invaluable helper. Around 1900 more than 120 people lived here. The last gave up in the 1950s. What remains is foundations, a handful of houses and a grassed-over path; on the cliffs above the birds scream exactly as before.

FAQ

Where is Måstad, Værøy located?

Måstad, Værøy is in Nordland, Norway.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Lukas Beck · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons