The Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site is inscribed in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. This is where Norsk Hydro started its pioneering activities – in both a Norwegian and international perspective – to develop the electrochemical industry, which revolutionised food production globally. This area, with its spectacular scenery, provided the basis for power production, factories, industrial towns and transport arteries – a phenomenal development in a short time.
A meeting almost by chance in 1903 between engineer Sam Eyde and the young and gifted professor Kristian Birkeland was all it took to make the idea of industrial production of fertiliser a reality. Together, they discovered how to extract nitrogen from the air and produce food for plants. The fertiliser they produced accelerated crop growth and played a part in increasing food production, not just in Norway but worldwide.
Now you can read the whole story about Rjukan – Notodden Industrial Heritage Site in this new e-book!
A meeting almost by chance in 1903 between engineer Sam Eyde and the young and gifted professor Kristian Birkeland was all it took to make the idea of industrial production of fertiliser a reality. Together, they discovered how to extract nitrogen from the air and produce food for plants. The fertiliser they produced accelerated crop growth and played a part in increasing food production, not just in Norway but worldwide.
The Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site tells the story of:
• the water from the Hardangervidda mountain plateau that runs eastwards to Rjukan and Notodden
• the water converted into electrical energy
• the electrical energy used to power a chemical process industry
• a process industry that produces the global product – fertiliser – and revolutionised global food production.
Rapid development in a short time
Eyde and Birkeland possessed enormous drive and creativity. They managed to amass 1.5 times’ Norway’s state budget to get their project off the ground. The project was large in scale and provided a basis for developing industry and local communities in places such as Notodden, Rjukan, Tyssedal/Odda, Kristiansand and Eydehavn. All in all, Sam Eyde was involved in founding more than 30 companies within mining, hydroelectric power and industry. Construction of Rjukan began in 1907 and by 1920 the town was ready to welcome 10,000 residents.
Five tips for experiences in the World Heritage Area
1. Vemork power station
The power station at Vemork has been converted into a museum, the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum, where you can experience the fantastic energy fairy that unfolded in Rjukan. When Vemork was completed in 1911, it was the largest power station of its kind in the world.
2. MF Storegut
The railway ferry MF Storegut was used to transport railway carriages carrying fertiliser from Rjukan to Tinnoset, so that the fertiliser could get to Notodden and out to the world market. MF Storegut is now a protected vessel and is one of the items included in the Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site’s UNESCO World Heritage listing.
MF Storegut will operate as a heritage vessel in the summertime, carrying passengers between Rjukan and Tinnoset. (The boat will not run in the summer season of 2022)
3. The Krossobanen cable car
Krossobanen – Northern Europe’s first two-way cable car – conveys you from Rjukan to the foot of the Hardangervidda mountain plateau in 5 minutes. You can take both bikes and skis on the cable car, enabling you to enjoy all the nature-based experiences Hardangervidda has to offer. The cable car was built in 1928 as a gift from Norsk Hydro to enable the people of Rjukan to benefit from the sunshine at the summit during the dark winter months. Today, the cable car is a year-round tourist attraction. (temporarily closed in 2024)
4. Telemark Art Museum and World Heritage Center
Telemark Art Museum and World Heritage Center display art and industrial history in a beautiful industrial hall dating from the early 20th century. The industrial museum showcases the most important Norwegian inventions of all time: the electric arc furnace and fertiliser. The art collection includes pieces from the collections of Norsk Hydro and the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum, as well as the Terje Bergstad collection. Most of the works in the collection date from the golden age of the development of hydroelectric power and industry in Telemark, with artists such as Christian Skredsvig and Theodor Kittelsen. Telemark Art Museum and World Heritage Center can be found at Tinfos in Notodden, in a beautiful listed industrial park, and are open all year.
5. Town walks in Notodden and Rjukan
Get walking and visit various locations of outstanding universal value in Notodden and Rjukan. Join a guided tour or pick up a map at one of the tourist offices.
to add an item to your Itinerary basket.
.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
