The Blue Colour Works was founded by King Christian VII in 1776 after cobalt was discovered at Skuterud in 1772. By the 1840s it had become Norway's largest industrial company, employing over 2,000 workers and supplying 80 percent of the world's cobalt pigment. The blue dye was essential for porcelain and glass production worldwide.
Competition from synthetic ultramarine and the economic crisis following the 1848 revolutions led to bankruptcy in 1849. Mining continued under German ownership until 1898.
Today it's an 8-kilometre open-air museum combining industrial heritage with art exhibitions. The main site at Åmot features the original processing buildings, children's farm, shops and restaurants. Annual art exhibitions have featured major Norwegian and international artists. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark exhibited her paintings here in 2003.
The cobalt mines at Skuterud are covered separately. Open summer season.