Rauland is a mountain village in Vinje municipality, on the north shore of the large lake Totak, at the foot of the Hardangervidda plateau. It sits at about 750 metres above sea level and has been a centre for traditional Telemark culture for centuries.
The village is known for Raulandsakademiet, a course centre that offers more traditional craft courses than anywhere else in Norway, over 60 different ones. The University of South-Eastern Norway has a department here for folk art and folk music, making Rauland a genuine academic centre for Norwegian craft traditions, not a tourist recreation.
Rauland is also a ski destination. Rauland Skisenter has 13 lifts and 24 runs, and the cross-country network connects to the Hardangervidda. In summer, the area is a starting point for hikes onto the plateau.
The other side of Rauland is the cabin problem. Vinje municipality has about 5,500 cabins for a permanent population of only 3,800. That is nearly 1.5 cabins per resident, making it one of the largest cabin municipalities in Norway. Since 2001, the municipality has actively encouraged cabin development for tax income, but locals have had enough. Farmers lose sheep to unleashed dogs from cabin owners, hunting associations cannot fill their quotas because wildlife avoids the developed areas, and the village centre was never built to handle the traffic. In 2021, residents organised an open revolt against further development. Over 1,300 new cabin lots were already approved or pending. The debate continues.
The village is known for Raulandsakademiet, a course centre that offers more traditional craft courses than anywhere else in Norway, over 60 different ones. The University of South-Eastern Norway has a department here for folk art and folk music, making Rauland a genuine academic centre for Norwegian craft traditions, not a tourist recreation.
Rauland is also a ski destination. Rauland Skisenter has 13 lifts and 24 runs, and the cross-country network connects to the Hardangervidda. In summer, the area is a starting point for hikes onto the plateau.
The other side of Rauland is the cabin problem. Vinje municipality has about 5,500 cabins for a permanent population of only 3,800. That is nearly 1.5 cabins per resident, making it one of the largest cabin municipalities in Norway. Since 2001, the municipality has actively encouraged cabin development for tax income, but locals have had enough. Farmers lose sheep to unleashed dogs from cabin owners, hunting associations cannot fill their quotas because wildlife avoids the developed areas, and the village centre was never built to handle the traffic. In 2021, residents organised an open revolt against further development. Over 1,300 new cabin lots were already approved or pending. The debate continues.