Notodden is where the industrial adventure started. Sam Eyde founded Norsk Hydro here in 1905, before building the larger factories at Rjukan. This is where Norwegian hydropower was first used to produce artificial fertiliser on an industrial scale, a process that literally changed global food production. The whole Rjukan-Notodden industrial heritage is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The town has several heritage sites worth visiting. The World Heritage Centre explains the full story of how hydropower and fertiliser production transformed this part of Telemark and had global consequences. Hydroparken is where the first production started. Tinfos has its own cultural heritage site, and Tinnfossen waterfall is right in town.
Notodden is also known for its annual blues festival, one of the biggest in Scandinavia.
If you are coming from Rjukan, you have two options. The main road is faster. But if the weather is good, take the mountain road via Tuddal, which passes right at the base of Gaustatoppen with hairpin turns down the other side. That road closes in winter, usually from November to April.
The town has several heritage sites worth visiting. The World Heritage Centre explains the full story of how hydropower and fertiliser production transformed this part of Telemark and had global consequences. Hydroparken is where the first production started. Tinfos has its own cultural heritage site, and Tinnfossen waterfall is right in town.
Notodden is also known for its annual blues festival, one of the biggest in Scandinavia.
If you are coming from Rjukan, you have two options. The main road is faster. But if the weather is good, take the mountain road via Tuddal, which passes right at the base of Gaustatoppen with hairpin turns down the other side. That road closes in winter, usually from November to April.
