The law at that time required that all towns should be separated from their rural districts, but because of low population and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for Hammerfest in 1838.

Also on the same day, the new municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county.

Hamran were a number of large rocks, good for mooring boats in the local harbour.

The name comes from the word hamarr which means "stone", "steep cliff", or "rock face".

The local Hamran were covered up in land reclaiming during the early years after World War II.

The last element of the name comes from the word festr which means "rope" or "fastening" (for boats).

It is called Hámmerfeasta when it is spelled alone, but it is Hámmerfeastta suohkan when using the Sami language equivalent to "Hammerfest Municipality".

The official blazon is "Gules, a polar bear statant argent" (Norwegian: En hvit isbjørn i rødt).

The polar bear has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.

This location was an important fishing and Arctic hunting settlement for a long time before Hammerfest was given market town rights by royal decree of Christian VII of Denmark–Norway in 1789.

[5] After their victory in the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War, the Germans soon fortified the town of Hammerfest and used it as a major base.

During their long retreat following the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation, the Germans no longer managed to transport troops by sea further east due to intensive Red Air Force raids.

On 29 August 1944 Soviet bombers launched a second airstrike, inflicting significantly more damage to buildings and infrastructure in downtown Hammerfest.

During the summer, massive reindeer herds migrate from their winter pastures in the inner parts of Finnmark to the coast.

Although popular with tourists, this has been less favourably received by the town's population, with people complaining of traffic disturbances and the dung and urine left by the animals.

For hygienic reasons large sums of money have to be spent every year to clean up after the animals.

[33] The problem continues – the mayor, Alf E. Jakobsen, joked during the local election in 2011 that he was contemplating a career as a reindeer herder if he lost the vote.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Hammerfest is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms.

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Hammerfest:[60][61] The construction of the large liquefied natural gas site on Melkøya (island) just off Hammerfest, which will process natural gas from Snøhvit, is the most expensive construction project in the history of Northern Norway.

[68] Hammerfest offers sport and commercial fishing, both sea and freshwater, as well as scuba diving.

One chain of the Struve Geodetic Arc, now on the World Heritage List, is located at Fuglenes in Hammerfest.

Hammerfest is home to the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society (Norwegian: Isbjørnklubben); a museum displaying the history of Arctic hunting.

American author Bill Bryson begins his European travels in 1990, documented in his book Neither Here Nor There, with a visit to Hammerfest in order to see the Northern Lights, calling it "an agreeable enough town in a thank-you-God-for-not-making-me-live-here sort of way".