This municipality was established on 1 July 1861 when the northern district of
Kistrand Municipality was separated to form the new
Kjelvik Municipality. Initially, the new municipality encompassed the land on both sides of the northern end of the
Porsangerfjorden, including the eastern part of the island of
Magerøya, and it had a population of 345. The name of the municipality was changed from Kjelvik to Nordkapp in 1950. On 1 January 1984, the western part of the island of
Magerøya as well as the small surrounding islands of
Gjesværstappan (population: 240) were transferred from
Måsøy Municipality to Nordkapp Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed
Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old
Finnmark county. On 1 January 2024, the
Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of
Finnmark county.
Name The municipality (originally the
parish) was named after the old
Kjelvik farm () since the first
Kjelvik Church was built there. The first element is derived from the word which means "helmet" or "kettle". The last element is which means "
cove" or "
bay". The municipality was originally named Kjelvik, but that village was totally destroyed by the Germans in 1944 and it was never rebuilt. As a consequence of this, on 8 July 1949, a
royal resolution changed the name of the municipality to
Nordkapp effective on 1 January 1950. Nordkapp is a Norwegianized form of the
English name
North Cape by which the area was historically known dating back to at least 1553. The
Old Norse name of the
cape was .
Coat of arms The
coat of arms was granted on 19 October 1973. The official
blazon is
"Per fess angeled Or and gules" (). This means the arms have a
field (background) that is divided by an
angeled line. Above the line the field has a
tincture of
Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. Below the line, the field has a tincture of
gules (red). The arms are designed to look like a simplified
silhouette of the
North Cape, a large
cliff in Nordkapp Municipality that is traditionally taken to be the northernmost point in Norway and of the European continent. The red and yellow colors are meant to show the sea under a golden sky representing the
midnight sun. The arms were designed by
Hallvard Trætteberg.
Churches The
Church of Norway has one parish () within Nordkapp Municipality. It is part of the
Hammerfest prosti (
deanery) in the
Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. ==Government==