Every design for Sortland

Drive over Sortland Bridge from Hinnøya and the first thing you see is blue: the town on the east coast of Langøya, painted in the colour that has given it its nickname, the blue town by the strait. Sortland is the largest town in Vesterålen and the place the whole region comes to for shops and services, with the Hurtigruten calling at its quay.

For people who grew up here, the strait is the measure of everything: the bridge, the boats, Strand on the other side, so close that the two places work as one town. Kulturfabrikken brings library and cinema under one roof, Sortland museum looks after the region's stories, and Lystunnelen and Skulpturlandskap Nordland add art to an ordinary walk. Frydenlundparken is the green pause in between. The name itself goes back to Svorta, a dark river.

Whether you left for the south or never left at all, this is your blue town. Take the strait with you.