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Hovden is a fishing village in the municipality of Bø in Nordland county, Norway. Hovden makes up the northeastern part of the municipality and is defined geographically by the Malnesfjorden in the east and the ocean in the north and west. The road that goes to Hovden ends at the village. The habitation of Hovden, on the outermost point on a peninsula of the third largest island in Norway (Langøya) is because of the closeness to the rich fishing banks off of the Vesterålen archipelago. Fish processing and fishing are the main employment of dwellers in Hovden. Archaeological findings show that Hovden have been populated at least since 400 to 800 CE. The southern and western part of Hovden is referred to as "Malnes". Malnes was the clerical center for the northern part of Bø until the Malnes Church was moved from Malnes in 1829 to Eidet. The name of the parish is still called Malnes. ==History== Hovden is a part of a line of old fishing communities in Vesterålen. Between the northern Andenes and the southwestern Vinje there are several communities along the coastline with the common denominator of the closeness to the fishing banks off Vesterålen. Hovden is one of these, and have to its advantage good harboring conditions and "clean" seas outside. Most of the coastline has a lot of rocks and skerries, so a good harbor was of vital significance to these communities. Given the long settlement history, to maintain a large population is not possible in Hovden. From the census in 1666,〔(From the Norwegian Digital Archive )〕 nine men were registered as head of families in Hovden. Including families the total number of people could not have exceeded 60. Agriculture in Hovden has always been limited. The main agricultural activity has been sheep and goat farming. But then as a supplement to the main income source: fishing. Conditions for farming large cattle are poor as the soil does not produce enough grass for larger cattle. Before potatoes came to Northern Norway (before the early 19th century) grains were grown in Hovden, we do not know of the type, but oats and barley have been grown in northern Norway since before the year 1000. The fisheries have been and still are the most important economic activity in Hovden. Several different fisheries are important, but the most significant are the winter-fisheries between Christmas and Easter. These fisheries are also known under the name Lofotfisket. The Cod, gadus morhua migrate from the Barents Sea to spawn along the coast of Lofoten and have to pass Vesterålen on its way. Hovdens location is excellent given the short way to the areas where the fish are migrating south and northbound. For people living in Hovden, 80% of the total income was made during the first quarter of the year. The abundance of fish was far too much for consumption, and the fish was turned into dried fish and later salt fish, and then exported via Bergen to Europe. The proximity to the fishing banks drew fishermen to Hovden. From the latter part of the 19th century, we know that in the winter months there could be up to 400 fishermen〔Rolf Straume: Bø Bygdebok. Bind III〕 living on the small island across from the harbor (Holmen) and in the common landing place. They were living in cottages built for the purpose and under overturned boats. During the latter part of the 19th century, Hovden came under ownership from what is called in Norwegian "væreier". Literally translated a "fishing community owner". These owners had total control of the economic activities in the community, and many had a monopoly on the buying and selling of the fish caught. This monopoly, and the fact that the investment in boats and nets became increasingly more expensive given the overall modernisation of the industry, made the fishermen dependent on the owner due to not being able to pay their debts with their income. With the motorization of fishing vessels in the first two decades of the 20th century, the dependency on the "væreier" became even greater. With the motorization came a higher efficiency in catching fish, resulting in falling prices. Combined with the economic downturn in the 1930s, the profits from fishing dropped. Many of the owners went bankrupt and as a consequence the fishermen and their families had even less profit to live on. These events led to the formation of a fishermens union and in turn a state controlled buying monopoly who managed price formation. The reorganization of the fisheries made it more profitable for the fishermen. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hovden, Nordland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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