Rjukan

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Map showing the position of Rjukan between lakes Møsvatn (West, upstream) and Tinnsjø (East)

Rjukan is a city and the administrative center of Tinn municipality in Telemark. It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Tinnsjå, and got its name after Rjukanfossen ("The Smoking Waterfall") west of the town. The Tinn municipality council granted township status for Rjukan in 1996. The town has 3 386 inhabitants (Jan. 2007).

[edit] History

Rjukan was formerly a significant industrial center in Telemark, and the town was established between 1905 and 1916 when Norsk Hydro started saltpetre production there. Rjukan was chosen because Rjukanfossen, a 104-metre waterfall, provided easy means of generating large quantities of electricity. The man with the idea to use the Rjukan falls was Sam Eyde, the founder of Hydro. It is estimated that he together with A/S Rjukanfoss (later Norsk Hydro) used about 2 times the national budget of Norway to build Rjukan and that there were at the most approx. 12,000 workes (Rallare) from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland as well as Norway building the factories and the town.

In 1934 Norsk Hydro built at the time the world's largest powerplant at Vemork in Rjukan, and with it a hydrogen plant. A by-product of hdyrogen production via water electrolysis was heavy water. It was the later winner of the Nobel prize Odd Hassel who told Norsk Hydro that they were in fact producing heavy water. The was run by the Germans during World War II, and later sabotaged multiple times by the Norwegian resistance movement and the allied forces.

Today, the powerplant at Vemork has been made into Norsk Industriarbeidermuseum (Norwegian Industrial labour's Museum) where the history of Rjukan and the history of the Industrial labour is shown, in addition to the war and the history of the sabotage connected to it.

After 1960, most of the saltpetre production in Rjukan was transferred to Norsk Hydro factories at Herøya in Porsgrunn. Some industry is still present in Rjukan, among them Scan Alloys.

Rjukan has a long history of tourism. Tourists have come to the narrow valley for over a century. The Rjukanfossen waterfall is a famous landmark in Norway, and has been portrayed by several famous artists. The area has good terrain for skiing, and the town is a good starting point for hiking on the Hardangervidda plateau. In the 1860s, Krokan by the Rjukan waterfall was Norwegian Mountain Touring Association's (DNT) first hut. The waterfall was later harnessed for hydropower production and the hut was sold. Today it is re-opened, situated by the main road from Rjukan (Tinn) to Vinje. In later years Rjukan has become famous for its possibilities for ice climbing. The season is long, from November to April and the waterfalls are many and varied.