Raufoss is a small town built around one of Norway's most strategically important factories. In 1896, as tensions grew between Norway and Sweden ahead of the union's dissolution in 1905, the state established Rødfoss Patronfabrik here to manufacture ammunition. An independent Norway would need its own arms supply, and the remote inland location was chosen to keep the factory safe from naval attack.
The factory grew through two world wars. During the German occupation it was forced to produce ammunition for the Wehrmacht. On 19 October 1956, a devastating explosion ripped through Hall 15, an underground chamber over 100 metres long where workers filled cartridges with gunpowder. Around 100 people were in the hall when the roof collapsed. The disaster remains one of Norway's worst industrial accidents.
In the 1990s the company split: the automotive aluminium division became Raufoss Automotive (later taken over by Norsk Hydro), while the ammunition side merged with Swedish and Finnish partners to form Nammo, now a major international defence company still headquartered here. The famous Raufoss Mk 211 multipurpose round, used by NATO forces worldwide, carries the town's name.
The factory grew through two world wars. During the German occupation it was forced to produce ammunition for the Wehrmacht. On 19 October 1956, a devastating explosion ripped through Hall 15, an underground chamber over 100 metres long where workers filled cartridges with gunpowder. Around 100 people were in the hall when the roof collapsed. The disaster remains one of Norway's worst industrial accidents.
In the 1990s the company split: the automotive aluminium division became Raufoss Automotive (later taken over by Norsk Hydro), while the ammunition side merged with Swedish and Finnish partners to form Nammo, now a major international defence company still headquartered here. The famous Raufoss Mk 211 multipurpose round, used by NATO forces worldwide, carries the town's name.