Struve Geodetic Arc

We are at Hammerfest today and the weather is awful. The snow is flying sideways in the gale, and our boat had to miss one of its stops this morning.

However, not to be discouraged, we have come to see the stone tower that was put up around 1845. It was the northern most point of a line of structures over 2,800 in distance, that were erected to try to measure the size and dimensions of the earth.

I can't say that I understand how they achieved the measurements, but it was something to do with triangulation.

We also fought against the wind down to the seashore to a little building that we think is a lighthouse.

During the second world war this area was occupied by the Germans and in 1944 as they withdrew they operated a scorched earth policy where they destroyed almost every building, apart from the occasional church.

However, this cannon looks as if it is a survivor from a much earlier time.