The site of one of Europe’s most brutal witch hunts has been transformed into a modernist memorial monument, perched above the Arctic Circle on the rugged coast of Norway’s most northeastern tip.

As Europe killed more than 40,000 people accused of sorcery in the 17th and 18th centuries, there were vicious witch trials taking place at the edge of the earth, in Norway’s tiny fishing villages.

Right off the crashing waves of the Barents Sea is the remote town of Vardø, known as the “witch capital of Norway.”