See Brønnøysund in Norway with us as we sail in with Havila Voyages on the Capella. This stop offers fishing, crabbing and hikes to the waterfalls. The hike to the hole (see below) is demanding with steep sections. The restaurant at Hildurs Urterarium is called Restaurant Sagastua and is one of the top spots in Central Norway.

After merging with neighbouring Brønnøy in 1964, it lost its town status, but in 1923 it was given independence, and in 2000 it was once again given town status. In the distant past when many Viking Chieftains or Kings owned territories, these areas swung between status. The word ladested or lossested is used for a market or seaport town. Here, is the largest limestone mining in Europe. This area is often called the middle of Norway.

The key focus is the hole in the mountain named Torghatten, the mountain with a hole straight through it. Named after King Torgar a nationally powerful chieftain. The original inhabitants were wiped out in an outright massacre by Duke Skule and his men in the Norwegian civil wars that raged around 1240. Such is the wonder of this Norse history, he has been poached for game-play so the legend gets confused with fiction. One legend suggests that in the north of Helgeland, there sat two mighty troll kings: ‘Vågakallen’ (the King of Vågan in Lofoten) and ‘Suliskongen’ (the King of the Sulitjelma mountains). They were separated by the West fiord. Enjoy the charm and myth because the mountain with the hole has influenced people’s fantasies for thousands of years. Legends have travelled from generation to generation, and from village to village.