Majavatn

Majavatn carries one of the darkest chapters of Norway's wartime resistance. Known as Maajehjaevrie in Southern Sami, this small village sits on the eastern shore of Lake Majavatnet in Grane municipality, where the E6 highway and the Nordlandsbanen railway both thread through the valley. During the German occupation, the area around Tangen farm became a weapons smuggling hub for the resistance. Agents from Kompani Linge, Norway's special operations unit, worked with local networks to build a military organization that could disrupt German supply lines between northern and southern Norway. Weapons reached the area via the Helgeland coast as part of Operation Jupiter. On 6 September 1942, three German soldiers were killed in a confrontation at Tangen. The reprisals were swift and devastating. Thirty men from the Majavatn-Mosjøen district were arrested and transported to Falstad concentration camp near Levanger. In a summary court-martial on 8 and 9 October, 24 were sentenced to death and executed in Falstadskogen. The event became known as the Majavatn-affæren. A memorial stands near Majavatn station, honoring the men who gave their lives. The village is deep in Southern Sami territory. Reindeer herders still drive their animals through the surrounding landscape, continuing a tradition that stretches back centuries. Majavatn Church, perched on a hilltop, serves the southern part of the municipality and overlooks land considered sacred by the Sami. To the west lies Børgefjell National Park, one of Norway's oldest protected wilderness areas and a stronghold for Sami reindeer husbandry.