- Domen, Norway
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Domen (164 metres above sea level) is a mountain on the Varanger Peninsula in eastern Finnmark, Norway. Domen is located between the small fishing village Kiberg and the island of Vardø. Domen is bare and flat topped, with a steep slope towards the sea below. The road over the mountain pass on E 75 which runs southwest from Bussesundet to Vadsø and is often closed in winter due to bad weather.[1]
Contents
The name
The Norse name of the Arctic Sea was Dumbshaf. This sea (haf) was named after the mountain Dumbr (Domen). The name is probably related to the English word dumb, but in what meaning is unclear.
History and folklore
Domen is often associated with the witch trials in Finnmark in the 17th century. Vardø was the site of approximately 70 witch-trials between 1601 and 1663. This was a large number, since there were only a couple of hundred inhabitants in the area at that time.
According to folklore, Vardø and the hill Domen became infamous as the end of the world, Ultima Thule and the entrance to Hell was said to be somewhere around Domen or Vardø, and so witches flew to Domen to meet the devil for sabbath.
See also
- Blockula
- Vardø witch trials
- Vardø witch trials (1621)
References
Other sources
- Alm, Ellen Janette. Statens rolle i trolldomsprosessene i Danmark og Norge på 1500- og 1600-tallet (Thesis, University of Tromso: 2000)
- Willumsen, Liv Helene Seventeenth-Century Witchcraft Trials in Scotland and Northern Norway (Thesis, University of Edinburgh: 2008)
External links
Categories:- Mountains of Finnmark
- Witchcraft in folklore and mythology
- Witch hunting
- Norway geography stubs
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