Man followed reindeer into the area of Gratangen some 10-12 000 years ago and the regions agricultural history dates back about 3000 years. The Sami People are the county`s oldest present ethnic group which still breed reindeers in the area.

Some of the most powerful and fierce Vikings resided in the area of Sør-Troms. They traded fur with the Sami people, then fish and fur with Northern Europe as a whole. They built the world’s most northern church of stone; Trondenes Church, around the year 1250 AD and the biggest Viking farm ever found was built in this area in 500 AD. It stands today, rebuilt as it was during the era of the Vikings.

The Norwegian King Olav Haraldsson was killed in 1030 AD at the battle of Stiklestad in a conflict with the local Viking chieftain Tore Hund, the farmers from the area and two other Viking leaders. Over 10,000 men joined the battle.

Adolf Hitler also had trouble crossing the mountains of Gratangen and his troops were forced back for the first time during the Second World War, by a group of officer candidates from a military camp in the area. The German party truly underestimated the effect of the arctic winter and the local’s skills in dealing with the conditions. 

Since the Middle Ages the county of Troms exported dried cod to all of Northern Europe, which is today still an important ingredient in Portuguese dishes, such as bacalao. Hence the coastal culture in Northern Norway remains very important for survival. Gratangen has been granted the North Norwegian Preservation Centre and Boat Museum.

Troms and the town of Tromsø has long acted as a preparation base for polar expeditions and both Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen recruited their crew there.

Arctic hunting, from Nova Zemlya to Canada, started up around 1820. By 1850, Troms and the town of Tromsø was the major center of Arctic hunting, and the city was trading from Arkhangelsk to Bordeax.

By the end of the 19th century, Troms and Tromsø had become a major Arctic trade center from which many Arctic expeditions originated. Explorers like Roald Amundsen, Umberto Nobile and Fridtjof Nansen made use of the know-how in Troms on the conditions in the Arctic, and often recruited their crew in the area. The Northern lights observatory was founded in 1927.