Rjukan and Vemork

Rjukan grew in a deep Telemark gorge around one of the world's boldest hydro-electric and chemical projects, harnessing a giant waterfall to make fertiliser, and later heavy water. The Vemork plant later produced heavy water, and the 1943 sabotage of that production is the episode the museum is best known for. The whole landscape - dam, penstocks, power station, workers town and transport line - carries the UNESCO listing.

The main sights

• The Vemork plant - the heavy-water plant and museum of the wartime sabotage.
• The gorge and waterfall - the deep valley and the harnessed Rjukanfossen.
• The company town - Rjukan's planned workers' town in the gorge.
• The Krossobanen - the old cable car built to give sunless townsfolk a glimpse of the sun.

When to go

The snow-free months for the museum, the gorge and walking; winter is dark and the town famously sunless, though the mirror on the hill throws sunlight into the square. Check museum hours.

Practical notes

It is an industrial-heritage and wartime-history site more than a scenic one, so its power is the story and the setting rather than beauty alone. The town sits in a deep, sunless gorge, which is atmospheric but grey. It is a detour into Telemark, rewarding for those drawn to the history.

Nearby

The Hardangervidda plateau rises above; the Heddal stave church is within reach.