Vadheim sits on the north shore of the Sognefjorden, at the small Vadheimsfjorden branch. The road through Ytredalen valley behind the village has been a transport route since at least the 14th century, first as a horse path, then as a cart road around 1800.
In 1906, an Englishman named Edgar Ashcroft bought the rights to the local waterways and founded Vadheim Elektrochemiske Fabriker the following year. The factory produced various chemical products for exactly a century before closing in 2007. Like Høyanger and Øvre Årdal, Vadheim is another example of how cheap hydropower turned small fjord villages into industrial towns. About 250 people live here today.
In 1906, an Englishman named Edgar Ashcroft bought the rights to the local waterways and founded Vadheim Elektrochemiske Fabriker the following year. The factory produced various chemical products for exactly a century before closing in 2007. Like Høyanger and Øvre Årdal, Vadheim is another example of how cheap hydropower turned small fjord villages into industrial towns. About 250 people live here today.