Kirkenes

Kirkenes
Town
View of Kirkenes
Kirkenes Location in Norway
Coordinates: 69°43′37″N 30°02′44″E / 69.72694°N 30.04556°E / 69.72694; 30.04556Coordinates: 69°43′37″N 30°02′44″E / 69.72694°N 30.04556°E / 69.72694; 30.04556
Country	Norway
Region	Northern Norway
County	Finnmark
District	Øst-Finnmark
Municipality	Sør-Varanger
Area
• Total	2.15 km2 (0.83 sq mi)
Elevation	9 m (30 ft)
Population (2013)
• Total	3,498
• Density	1,627/km2 (4,210/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01:00)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02:00)
Post Code	9900 Kirkenes

 Kirkenes  (Finnish: Kirkkoniemi, Kven: Kirkkoniemi, Northern Sami: Girkonjárga, Russian: Киркенес) is a town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsula along the Bøkfjorden, an arm of the large Varangerfjorden. The main church for Kirkenes is Kirkenes Church, located in the Haganes area of the town.

The 2.15-square-kilometre (530-acre) town has a population (2013) of 3,498; which gives it a population density of 1,627 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,210/sq mi). When the neighbouring suburban villages of Hesseng, Sandnes, and Bjørnevatn are all included with Kirkenes, the urban area reaches a total population of almost 8,000 people.

The area around Kirkenes was a common Norwegian–Russian district until 1826, when the present border was settled. The original name of the peninsula was Piselvnes ("Pis River headland"), but this was changed to Kirkenes (meaning "church headland") after the Kirkenes Church was built here in 1862.