Orkla Industrimuseum sits in the heart of Løkken Verk, telling the story of 333 years of mining that shaped this corner of Trøndelag. Copper was first discovered here in 1654, and for over two centuries miners extracted ore from the mountain using fire-setting, heating the rock face with bonfires and then breaking the cracked stone with hand picks. In 1896, industrialist Christian Thams bought the mine and transformed it into a modern operation, switching from copper to large-scale pyrite production. By the time the mine finally closed in 1987, it had yielded 24 million tonnes of pyrite containing copper, sulfur, zinc, and traces of silver and gold.
To move the ore from Løkken to the port at Thamshavn, 25 kilometres away, Thams built Norway's first electric railway. The Thamshavnbanen opened on 10 July 1908, with King Haakon VII himself performing the ceremony from a specially built saloon carriage that became known as Kongevogna, the King's Carriage. The railway used an unusual combination of metre gauge track and 25 Hz alternating current, making it unique in the world. Today it is the oldest railway still running on its original AC electrification. The museum displays the original Locomotive No. 2, the world's oldest surviving AC-driven locomotive, alongside the ornate Kongevogna. In summer, heritage trains still run along the original line.
During World War II, the mine took on grim strategic importance. German forces relied on Løkken's pyrite for their war industry, potentially supplying up to a quarter of Germany's needs. The Norwegian government-in-exile initially considered bombing, but the resistance chose sabotage to spare civilian lives. Kompani Linge carried out four daring operations between 1942 and 1944, targeting the railway's transformer station, ore ships, and locomotives. The first, Operation Redshank in May 1942, was the first approved sabotage action on Norwegian soil during the war. The operations came at a painful personal cost: the lead saboteur, Peter Deinboll, was targeting infrastructure his own father maintained as the mine's chief electrical engineer. After the war, the elder Deinboll was blamed for the destruction and lost his job and home; Orkla Group only issued a formal apology in 2003.
Beyond the exhibitions, visitors can descend into Gammelgruva, the Old Mine, where guided tours lead through the underground cavern known as Fagerlisalen, the Cathedral of labour and toil. The cavern reveals the scale of centuries of hand-hewn mining, a vast space carved from solid rock by firelight and muscle. The mine maintains a constant temperature of around 12 degrees year-round. In summer, the heritage railway operates scheduled services between Løkken and Svorkmo stations, using the same carriages from 1908.
To move the ore from Løkken to the port at Thamshavn, 25 kilometres away, Thams built Norway's first electric railway. The Thamshavnbanen opened on 10 July 1908, with King Haakon VII himself performing the ceremony from a specially built saloon carriage that became known as Kongevogna, the King's Carriage. The railway used an unusual combination of metre gauge track and 25 Hz alternating current, making it unique in the world. Today it is the oldest railway still running on its original AC electrification. The museum displays the original Locomotive No. 2, the world's oldest surviving AC-driven locomotive, alongside the ornate Kongevogna. In summer, heritage trains still run along the original line.
During World War II, the mine took on grim strategic importance. German forces relied on Løkken's pyrite for their war industry, potentially supplying up to a quarter of Germany's needs. The Norwegian government-in-exile initially considered bombing, but the resistance chose sabotage to spare civilian lives. Kompani Linge carried out four daring operations between 1942 and 1944, targeting the railway's transformer station, ore ships, and locomotives. The first, Operation Redshank in May 1942, was the first approved sabotage action on Norwegian soil during the war. The operations came at a painful personal cost: the lead saboteur, Peter Deinboll, was targeting infrastructure his own father maintained as the mine's chief electrical engineer. After the war, the elder Deinboll was blamed for the destruction and lost his job and home; Orkla Group only issued a formal apology in 2003.
Beyond the exhibitions, visitors can descend into Gammelgruva, the Old Mine, where guided tours lead through the underground cavern known as Fagerlisalen, the Cathedral of labour and toil. The cavern reveals the scale of centuries of hand-hewn mining, a vast space carved from solid rock by firelight and muscle. The mine maintains a constant temperature of around 12 degrees year-round. In summer, the heritage railway operates scheduled services between Løkken and Svorkmo stations, using the same carriages from 1908.
