The Municipality of Vågan in Lofoten covers most of Austvågøya, Gimsøya, Large and Small Molla, Skrova, Årstein, the southwestern tip of Hinnøya, and a large number of islands, islets and skerries.
There is a star-shaped tun from the Iron Age near Vinje on Gimsøya, and nearby is the standing stone known as Reka, standing 1.54 metres tall. This is also where the Gimsøy stone is from. The Gimsøy stone is Northern Norway's only rune stone with carvings forming a coherent text. The stone is currently on display at Tromsø University Museum.
In Storvågan near Kabelvåg, there are remains of an entire medieval village. This was probably the financial centre of Northern Norway at the time, driven by the Lofoten seasonal fishery, but it was abandoned in the late 16th century. Nearby is Brurberget, the thingstead associated with the Vågabok law. This was where the Hålogaland regional thing assembled in early medieval times.
Kabelvåg is where the Vågan Church, known as the Lofoten Cathedral, was erected in 1898. Kabelvåg also boasts an aquarium, and Storvågan Old Trading Post has been restored. At Skrova, too, buildings used in the old trading post have been preserved. Svolvær is a hub for artists in the region, with the North Norwegian Art Center (NKKS), Ateliér Lofoten, Galleri Lille Kabelvåg, Caviar Factory (Henningsvær) and Lofoten International Art Festival (LIAF) as key institutions. In addition, the Nordland Vocational College of Art and Film is located in Kabelvåg. The college is owned by the Nordland County Council.
Atop Fløyfjellet above Svolvær there is a geological oddity, known as Svolværgeita (the Svolvær Goat). The municipality is a popular tourist destination in the summer, with fisherman's cabin accommodation available in most fishing villages.
Vågan's contribution to the "Footprints in the North" project is Vágar, the first settlement north of the Arctic Circle. In the 14th century, the trade in dried fish to Europe started here. There is a cultural heritage trail taking visitors from the Lofoten Museum in Storvågan to Kabelvåg's city centre.
Vågan kommune
Navnet: Vågan er en direkte avledning av “Vagar” som antakelig var et gårdsnavn - vågene, vikene.
Beliggenhet: Vågan kommune ligger øst i Lofoten. Grenser i nordøst til Hadsel og Lødingen, i sørøst til Vestfjorden og i sørøst til Vestvågøy.
Folketall 2021: 9 670.
Utstrekning: 479 km2. 20,2 innbyggere pr. km2.
Administrasjonssted: Svolvær.
Viktige næringer: Fiske og turisme
Kommunehistorikk: Selvstendig kommune fra 1838. I 1856 ble Gimsøy kommune skilt ut. I 1918 ble Svolvær ladested (bykommune) skilt ut. I 1964 ble Gimsøy og Svolvær igjen lagt inn under Vågan kommune.