House of Hegelund
Arctic family traditions since 1635
Four centuries above the Arctic Circle. A family that made use of what was at hand, took care of each other and saw opportunities where others saw none.
1635
A family shaped by the Arctic.
In 1635, Morten C. Hegelund – son of the mayor of Viborg in Denmark, and a servant of the Crown – came north and settled at Elvevoll – today’s Hansnes on Ringvassøy – far above the Arctic Circle. Life on the outer islands was harsh and isolated. The family endured – and thrived.
Here, survival has always depended on ingenuity, cooperation and a strong sense of community. Those are still the qualities that define the Hegelund family today.
The Hegelund spirit
Make use of what is at hand. Be creative. Take care of each other. See opportunities where others see none.
The Hegelunds recognised opportunities where no one else was looking. They challenged established conformities and traded with Russia and South Norway.
Through the centuries
From Viborg to the Arctic.
Two maps, two worlds. The walled town of Viborg in Denmark, where the Hegelunds were councilmen and mayors in the 1500s – and the Arctic islands north of Tromsø, where the family has lived since 1635.
1530s–1622
The Hegelunds are councilmen and mayors of Viborg in Denmark. In 1622 the mayor’s sons Morten and Mikkel leave for Norway.
1635
Morten C. Hegelund comes to the Arctic and settles at Elvevoll on Ringvassøy as bailiff of Troms.
1661
Christen Michelsen Heggelund, “the King of Skjervøy”, founds the trading post on Skjervøy.
1670s
The bailiff’s sons build trading posts at Hansnes, Nord-Grunnfjord and Helgøy, each with his own jekt sailing to Bergen.
1700s–1917
The Pomor trade with Russia shapes the coast. Legal from 1796, it ends with the revolution.
1794–1836
Morten Mortensen Hegelund is parish clerk of Helgøy for more than forty years. His son takes the name Klingenberg.
1889
Helgøy church, built at Hemnes in 1741 and later moved to Hamn on Senja, is consecrated on Helgøy.
1944–45
The Lyngen Line. Nord-Troms east of Lyngen is forcibly evacuated and burned.
Today
The family carries the spirit forward from Tromsø, through House of Hegelund.
From the family archive
Denmark · 1500s
The Hegelund Dynasty of Viborg
Councilmen, mayors and a bishop – the family before the Arctic.
Troms · 1600s
The bailiff and the King of Skjervøy
The first generations in the North – and the merchant mocked by Petter Dass.
1635 – today
From Hegelund to Klingenberg
An unbroken line from father to son, from the bailiff to the family today.
Our homesteads
The places that made us.
Helgøy
The island at the heart of the family’s story: a harsh land of extremes, of midnight sun and months of blue darkness.
The Helgøy Church
The church of the Hegelunds for several hundred years, and the heart of the community.
In preparation
Lessons from the Arctic.
Drawing on four centuries of Arctic resilience, House of Hegelund is preparing small gatherings in Northern Norway on leadership, culture, history and finance – together with selected partners.
The landscape and the family’s history are the classroom.
