RJUKAN Wo r l d h e r i t a g e c i t y
Always worth a visit!
At Rjukan you will find: - The best yarn shop in Norway - The second best cheese in the world - The world’s best napoleon cake - The best tour route in Telemark county - Norway’s largest national park - Northern Europe’s first cable car - The place that prevented the world from famine - The place that prevented the world from nuclear war - The only place in the world with a gigantic solar mirror - Norway’s coolest bungee jump - Norway’s longest toboggan run - Norway’s first architect-designed city
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Welcome to the world heritage city
When you visit this tiny, strange city squeezed in between high mountains, you may know that the tourist movement in Norway, started here. However, Rjukan is also the start of a modern Norwegian industrial history, that prevented the world from famine. The heavy water sabotages during World War II, ended what could have been a nuclear war. And all of this, in some of East Norway’s most magnificent setting, at the foot of the majestic Gaustatoppen. 3
A unique place with a unique history What is Norway’s most important contribution to the world? The cheese slicer? Or is it the paper clip? Guess what? None of the above… In 2015, Rjukan - Notodden industrial heritage was registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, based on a Norwegian invention: Industrial production of fertilizer for agriculture using hydropower.
hydropower construction and in 1911 Vemork power station was finish, as the world’s largest power station. This power and Birkeland’s ingenuity, became the basis for Norsk Hydro and an industrial adventure that Norway never had seen.
Fertilizers feed millions of people around the world, and the story of Rjukan is closely linked to this vital invention. A random meeting between the engineer and entrepreneur Sam Eyde and professor Kristian Birkeland in 1903 was what was needed to use the air’s nitrogen in an industrial fertilizer product.
Rjukan was transformed from a small village into a modern urban community with over 10,000 inhabitants in just a few years. Suddenly, there were townhouses with water and sewerage, electric lights and telephone, where there had previously been only small farms. The industry that was established here over a hundred years ago has given Rjukan one of Norway’s most unique stories.
Eyde had a vision of “putting Rjukanfossen to do useful work for the people”. He acquired the rights to
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The Heavy Water War During World War II there was an atomic race. Heavy water was needed, and it was produced at Vemork near Rjukan. Heavy water was a by-product of the artificial fertilizer production, which was in the Nazis’ interest. The hope was to find the basement floor of the heavy water cellar without too much damage. After some intense weeks, The Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum could confirm that the basement was found virtually intact.
Rjukan is known for the heavy water actions, and one of the most famous acts took place in February 1943. The action in which Norwegian resistance men bombed the heavy water facility at Vemork, is referred to as one of the most successful sabotage actions during the Second World War.
Now you can walk straight into the Norwegian history, with an exclusive tour in the heavy water cellar. Here you will be given the opportunity to see where the saboteurs Rønneberg and Kayser crawled in, and the high concentration room where the sabotage action took place.
The whole story of the heavy water war and the life during the occupation, are well preserved at the Norwegian Industrial Workers’ Museum, at Vemork. At the museum you will also find the history of the city and about how life up here has changed over the last 120 years.
If you want to experience more of the saboteurs’ battles, you can combine outdoor life and history with a hike on the Sabotour’s trail, which is the last part of the track the Norwegian resistance men used when they ought to blow up the heavy water factory. The trail can be done with a guide, or on your own.
The heavy water cellar In autumn 2017, Norway’s first and Europe’s largest industrial archeological excavation started.
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Rjukan for children Bring your children to Rjukan and have some family fun! Your children would love to try the Krossobanen cable car and challenge themselves in the climbing paths to Rjukan climbing park. Rjukan climbing park has an amazing view, overlooking the majestic Gaustatoppen.
For those who like to be active in nature, the hiking trails “Solstien” and “Oldemorstien” are especially suitable for families with children. A bit bigger challenge the children will get by hiking to the mountain Gaustatoppen. They will be so proud by knowing that they have “climbed “one of South Norway’s highest peaks. Inside Gaustatoppen there is a “secret” funicular, Gaustabanen. Not only is it exciting to travel with it, but it also allows kids to get away with hiking just one way to the top.
Rjukanbadet is always a sure winner for the whole family. Here the children can swim both inside and outside, try the water slides or climb up the climbing wall and jump into the water, whilst the adults may relax in the wellness area. Farm holidays are always popular for the family’s small bosses. At our visitor farms, the children can take part in the farm life and get to know the animals through cuddling and work.
At the destination Gausta the Gausta King lives. He is most often to see during the winter. However, perhaps he will emerge from his Kingdom during your visit.
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Rjukan town center Rjukan has a nice town center with a large selection of shops. Here you will find many of the well-known chains, but also cozy niche stores that are an experience in themselves. “Minas Kreative Hjørne” in Storgata can boast of the title “Norway’s best yarn shop”.
a good deal and you can find a discount yourself. They have operated with everything from jumping discounts to yawning discounts.
At Mathuset Eyde, you will find what many people claim to be the world’s best Napoleon cake. There has been no official election, however the baker says that people have been driving from afar just to taste the cake.
The hiking trail “City walk in Rjukan” runs along the cozy river Måna and through the city streets. A charming trip, where you will see a lot of the city’s great architecture. In the autumn of 2018, the tour was named the best tour route in the Telemark County, because of the closeness to the city center.
The Goldsmith Sando is one of Rjukan’s oldest stores and has had the doors open ever since 1911. Four generations have been running the jeweler, who has his specialty in bunad silver.
Right on the outside of the city centre, you can find Tinn Museum that represents traditions associated with everyday life and celebrations in pre-industrial Vestfjorddalen (old name of Rjukan).
In the second-hand store named “Plaster” you will find almost all the things you can imagine. Here you can make
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Active in nature The wonderful nature around Rjukan invites you to activities all year round. Gaustatoppen thrones majestically over the city, but Rjukan is also situated as the southern gateway to Hardangervidda National Park, Norway’s largest national park. Mount Gaustatoppen is Norway’s most majestic mountain peak, where it thrones over Rjukan with its 1883 meters. The top is easy to climb and offers the widest view of Southern Norway. On a clear day you can see 1/6 of Norway from det top.
Rjukan has become a popular place for cyclists. The bike ride on Hardangervidda is probably the most popular.
Combine the hike to the Gaustatoppen with the lift Gaustabanen. The Gaustabanen is a spectacular funicular inside the mountain, which until 2010 was a well-kept secret as a military transportation facility.
Before you are inside the park, the tour starts with a very special attraction, Krossobanen. North Europe’s first cable car, built in 1928.
For those who want to challenge themselves in the nature, they can swing from three to three at Rjukan climbing park.
And did you know that there are over 800 fishing lakes in Tinn municipality? In many of the lakes you can fish for trout and char.
In the summer you have numerous paths to choose between whether you want to go to a summit, follow DNT’s network of trails from cabin to cabin on Hardangervidda, or go for shorter, family-friendly hikes.
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Norway’s largest national park Rjukan is situated by the southern gateway to Hardangervidda. The Hardangerviddda is the largest national park in Norway. The landscape is varied, from steep mountain peaks to flat plains and great views.
MB Fjellvåken departures from Skinnarbu, and here you will also find the Hardangervidda National Park Center. The center tells the story of the nature and the wild reindeer on Hardangervidda in an interactive and catchy way. The exhibition has won several international awards.
Hardangervidda can be accessed from Rjukan with Krossobanen or MB Fjellvåken on lake Møsvatn. MB Fjellvåken offers a beautiful high mountain cruise that passes mountain farms in a roadless community at Møsstrond.
At the center you will find the café “Hardangervidda panorama café”, as the name implies, you will have a panorama view of Hardangervidda National Park.
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The Tinn villages The town of Rjukan is surrounded by beautiful villages, where the preservation of culture and traditions are in focus. At Tinn Håndverkssenter in Atrå, you will find a handcraft exhibition with products such as rose painting, wood carving, knives, the Norwegian “bunad”, and much more. If you want a taste of old Norwegian traditional food, visit one of the visitor’s farms: Selstali Seter, Håvardsrud Seterliv or Bergstaul Seter. Bergstaul Seter recently participated in the cheese championship, where the goat cheese won an award for the world’s second-best cheese!
They have made their own bakery on the farm, which in addition to unique atmosphere and lovely food, offers a fantastic view. A few minutes away, you will find the farm of Aslaug Gollo and her shop “TinnBua” which is said to have “something of everything”. You go from the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom to a nostalgic loft, and everything you see can be purchased.
Sandviken Camping is situated by the lake Tinnsjøen, and offer a popular beach and a sauna. Try a new form of accommodation here; glamping – a furnished luxury tent, where you wake up with an amazing view of the lake Tinnsjøen.
If you continue to “Tessungdalen”, you will find Å Camp, a place with quite unique ways of accommodations and activities. You can either stay in a wooden hut or in a hammock. From the treetop cabin, you may throw the fishing-line from the porch and try your luck in the Tessungdal river. At the river bank you will also find a wood-fired bathtubs, if you want a bathing experience in a slightly different way.
Further up the valley is a special place for dining, “Eldhuset”. In just 25 km2 a family of four offers a real stone oven baked pizzas and sweet baked pasteries.
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Sun, sun, just sun The sun does not reach all the way down to the village the whole year round because of the high mountains that surrounds Rjukan. However, Rjukan is the place where the impossible is possible, so both a cable car and a sun mirror have been built to provide sun to the people. Rjukan is without sun during the winter months. For that reason, Norsk Hydro built the cable car Krossobanen in 1928, so the locals could get up high enough to see the sun.
officially opened. The idea was launched already in 1913, but the technology was lacking. It took hundred years before the mirrors came into place.
The Krossobanen is still in use today, and it takes you up to Hardangervidda every day of the year. A trip with Krossobanen is an experience in itself with the great view from the top, or as transport for activities in the area. At the top you will also find Krossobanen CafĂŠ, which lays on the edge of the mountain and offers a majestic view out over Rjukan and Gaustatoppen.
3 mirrors of 17 m2 are installed 450 meter up in the mountainside north of Rjukan Square. The mirrors are computer controlled and follow the sun’s path over the horizon. The sunlight is reflected down to Rjukan Square. Rjukan is the only place in the world with this technology, and people from all over the world comes to experience the construction.
In October 2013, the sun shone for the first time down to the centre of Rjukan in winter. The sun mirror was
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Winter in Rjukan – a paradICE Rjukan is a perfect base for winter experiences either with skis, skates, sledges or crampons. With Gausta ski center in fronth, everything is set for a wide range of winter experiences when the winter comes.
You can take the Krossobanen cable car up to Hardangervidda and ride down one of Norway’s longest sledding hill “Ryes vei” – the path underneath the cable car.
The ski center has 13 lifts and 35 km of prepared tracks, the longest is 3,2 km long. The ski centre also has 3 children’s areas and 2 terrain parks. Several of the slopes are lit up by night, for evening skiing.
At Rjukan square in the city center there is a great ice range. You can borrow ice skates for free at Rjukan Library. The ice range has a cooling system, so here it is ice regardless of mild weather and rain.
At Gausta you will also find miles of prepared crosscountry skiing opportunities, and two floating saunas at the lake Kvitåvatn with beautiful view to Gaustatoppen mountain. Perhaps you get tempted to head for the Gaustatoppen, either by mountain skiing or by randonee?
If we add all the possibilities you have to explore the area on snowshoes, and that ice climbing is offered in the approximately 200 iced waterfalls, you can say that Rjukan is a winter paradise.
On the other side of the valley you will find Norways larges national park, Hardangervidda, with varied cross country skiing tracks. You will also find groomed trails both at Skinnarbu, Skirvedalen and Hovin, perfect for cross-country enthusiasts.
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Adventures Rjukan is an eldorado for those who seek some adrenaline and excitement. From the suspension bridge at Vemork you can try Norway’s coolest bungee jump. Here you throw yourself in the 84-meter-high gorge that the heavy water saboteurs had to cross the night they blew up the heavy water plant at Vemork during World War II.
Whether you are an experienced ice climber or just want to try the sport for a day, Rjukan offers you the opportunity. Are you a competitor then try out the off-road bike race “Helterittet”. It is said to be one of big fives in the world regarding off road races.
If you want to relive this exciting story, you can join a guided tour of the heavy water saboteurs’ footsteps.
If you rather prefer to feel the adrenaline rush while setting down mountainsides in the snow, then Gaustatoppen is the place for you. The mountain has tracks of all levels of difficulties.
With almost 200 waterfalls and 6 months without sun, Rjukan has become world famous for ice climbing.
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Rjukan Tourist Office Torget 2, 3660 Rjukan +47 35080550 info@visitrjukan.com
Geilo
Bergen
Gardermoen Oslo
Rjukan Sandefjord Strømstad
Larvik Langesund
Photo: Ian Brodie, Gary Payton/ NIA, Fotograf Jacobsen, Thomasz Wacko/NIA, Fotograf Jacobsen, Joachim Helstad, Mediateam/ visitRjukan, Rjukan klatrepark, Newslab BAW/visitRjukan, Torgeir Urdal, Rauland Turist, Sandviken Camping, Å Camp, Karl Martin Jakobsen, Gausta Skisenter, Ann Kristin Karlsson, Marianne Folmer, Helterittet, Bjørn Harry Schønhaug, Trond Stegarud, Tom Atle Brodevik.
Stavanger
Kristiansand
Hirtshals
visitrjukan.com
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