Øvre Årdal is the main town in Årdal municipality, sitting at the northern end of Årdalsvatnet, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The aluminium smelter is the reason this town exists at the scale it does today.
The factory has a dark origin. During the German occupation, a company called A/S Nordag was set up in 1941 to build an aluminium plant here, powered by the Tyin waterfall. The Germans needed aluminium for warplane production. From early 1943, they brought in forced labourers to construct it: up to 1,000 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners and 600 French workers, supplied through Organisation Todt. The plant was nearly finished when the war ended in 1945.
The new Labour government simply took it over. The confiscated German property became state-owned Årdal Verk, and the factory that prisoners of war had built became the foundation of the town's post-war economy. Production started in 1948, and within a few years Årdal was transformed from a scarcely populated farming community into an industrial town. In 1986, Årdal Verk merged with Norsk Hydro to become Hydro Aluminium, which still operates the smelter today.
On social media, people sometimes post photos of Årdal and label them as Odda. The picture is usually taken from the 1,000-metre viewpoint on the old road above town. The road is closed to cars, but you can walk or cycle up there.
From Øvre Årdal, the small mountain road Tindevegen leads up to Turtagrø on the Sognefjellet road, with a summer bus service. The Utladalen valley, starting nearby, is the route to Vettisfossen, Norway's highest unregulated waterfall.
The factory has a dark origin. During the German occupation, a company called A/S Nordag was set up in 1941 to build an aluminium plant here, powered by the Tyin waterfall. The Germans needed aluminium for warplane production. From early 1943, they brought in forced labourers to construct it: up to 1,000 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners and 600 French workers, supplied through Organisation Todt. The plant was nearly finished when the war ended in 1945.
The new Labour government simply took it over. The confiscated German property became state-owned Årdal Verk, and the factory that prisoners of war had built became the foundation of the town's post-war economy. Production started in 1948, and within a few years Årdal was transformed from a scarcely populated farming community into an industrial town. In 1986, Årdal Verk merged with Norsk Hydro to become Hydro Aluminium, which still operates the smelter today.
On social media, people sometimes post photos of Årdal and label them as Odda. The picture is usually taken from the 1,000-metre viewpoint on the old road above town. The road is closed to cars, but you can walk or cycle up there.
From Øvre Årdal, the small mountain road Tindevegen leads up to Turtagrø on the Sognefjellet road, with a summer bus service. The Utladalen valley, starting nearby, is the route to Vettisfossen, Norway's highest unregulated waterfall.