Otta is the regional centre for northern Gudbrandsdalen. It's a small town of about 2,300 people, but it's an important crossroads. The river Otta flows in from the west through Ottadalen and joins the Lågen here - that's where the town gets its name.
Before the railway arrived in 1896, there wasn't much here. The station changed everything. Otta became the end of the line for Dovrebanen until it reached Dombås in 1913, and suddenly this was a major transit point. In its heyday, the station employed over a hundred people. By the 1960s, as many as twenty buses would line up to take holidaymakers into the mountains, and over 1,200 pairs of skis were handled in a single season. Today it still functions as a combined train, bus and taxi station - the main gateway to both Rondane and Jotunheimen national parks.
The slate industry has been equally important. The Pillarguri quarry up the mountain has been producing Otta slate since around 1830. When the railway came, the slate suddenly had access to markets across Norway. In the 1980s, over 300,000 square metres were extracted annually, mostly exported to the Netherlands and Germany. The slate is distinctive - black with garnet and amphibole crystals - and it was recently used for the new Museum of the Viking Age in Oslo, the same type that covered the old Viking Ship Museum tower.
The name Pillarguri refers to the legendary farm girl who supposedly signalled the ambush on the Scottish mercenaries in 1612. The municipality uses her silhouette in its coat of arms, and the viewpoint where she supposedly stood is called Pillarguritoppen.
In 2000, Otta was granted town status - making it Oppland's third official town. The status has no legal effect, but locals seem to like it.