Vega World Heritage Center
The Vega World Heritage Centre, which is beautifully located at Gardsøy, documents the history and culture of the Vega islanders. Here you can gain fascinating insights into the lives of these fishermen-farmers, and about their centuries-old local tradition of protecting the eider ducks who come to nest here – a tradition that led to Vega being granted UNESCO’s World Heritage status. A tribute to a unique cultural landscape and to the contribution of women The Vega archipelago was inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 2004. UNESCO’s justification states: “The Vega Archipelago reflects the way generations of fishermen-farmers have, over the past 1500 years, maintained a sustainable living in an inhospitable seascape near the Arctic Circle, based on the now-unique practice of harvesting eider down. This status is also a tribute to the contribution women make to the down-harvesting process.” Read More
