Rv3 now bypasses Elverum entirely, but the town is worth knowing about even if you only see the exit sign. On 9 April 1940, as German troops invaded Norway, King Haakon VII, the government, and parliament fled Oslo by special train. They convened here, where parliament unanimously passed the Elverum Authorization, giving the exiled government the power to rule in Norway's best interest. Without this document, the government-in-exile in London would have had no legal authority. Two days later, on 11 April, 19 German bombers attacked. A two-hour raid left the town centre in ashes and killed 41 people. It was retribution for saying no.
If you do take the exit, the Glomdal Museum, founded in 1911, is one of Norway's largest open-air museums with buildings from the mountain parishes of Østerdalen and the lowland districts of Solør. Older drivers will remember the Elgstua, a moose-themed hotel and restaurant that was a landmark when Rv3 still went through town. Despite the name and the giant moose statues, they never actually served just moose. The region also borders Finnskogen, the forest where Finnish settlers arrived in the late 1500s and 1600s, practising slash-and-burn farming. Their story is told at the Norsk Skogfinsk Museum in Svullrya.
If you do take the exit, the Glomdal Museum, founded in 1911, is one of Norway's largest open-air museums with buildings from the mountain parishes of Østerdalen and the lowland districts of Solør. Older drivers will remember the Elgstua, a moose-themed hotel and restaurant that was a landmark when Rv3 still went through town. Despite the name and the giant moose statues, they never actually served just moose. The region also borders Finnskogen, the forest where Finnish settlers arrived in the late 1500s and 1600s, practising slash-and-burn farming. Their story is told at the Norsk Skogfinsk Museum in Svullrya.