Saudasjøen is a small village along the northern shore of the Saudafjord, about 3.5 kilometres before Sauda. Today it feels like a quiet suburb. But this was actually where it all began.
The original Sauda farm that gave the whole municipality its name was located here. When the municipality was established in 1838, Saudasjøen was chosen as the administrative centre. It only lost that status in the early 1900s when the smelting works shifted the focus to Sauda.
During World War Two, the Germans built a massive aluminium factory here as part of the Nordag programme. They needed aluminium for warplanes, and Sauda had the hydropower and an existing smelting plant. Over a thousand Soviet prisoners were used as forced labour, along with French and Danish workers. An entire barracks town was constructed. At its peak, the population exceeded 7,000.
The factory produced around 9,000 tonnes of alumina before the war ended. It was demolished in 1951, and the equipment moved to Årdal. The Soviet workers were sent home in the summer of 1945. Many faced accusations of collaboration and ended up in Stalin's labour camps.
The factory buildings are gone, but traces remain. There is a marked trail through Saudasjøen with war memorials telling the story of this dark chapter.