scenic viewpoint
Gaustatoppen
From the summit you can see roughly a sixth of mainland Norway on a clear day. Reached on foot or by the old cold-war railway inside the mountain.
4 km · about 10 min drive
EuropeNorwayTelemark
Rjukan
Telemark, Norway · Europe
About Rjukan
Rjukan is worth a stop: 40 minutes from Sauland, 4km from Gaustatoppen.
Rjukan is in Telemark, Norway, with about 3,600 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Sauland, about 35 km away.
Rjukan (Norwegian: [ˈrʉ̀ːkɑn]) is a town in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Tinn Municipality. The town is located in the Vestfjorddalen valley between the lakes Møsvatn and Tinnsjå. The municipal council of Tinn declared town status for Rjukan in 1996. TheRead more
town is located about ten kilometres (six miles) to the west of the village of Miland and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the northwest of the village of Tuddal (in Hjartdal Municipality).
The 2.58-square-kilometre (640-acre) town has a population (2025) of 3,012 and a population density of 1,167 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,020/sq mi).
The town was essentially "built from scratch" due to the industrial developments by Norsk Hydro in the 1910s and 1920s. It got its name from the Rjukan Falls west of the town. At its peak, Rjukan was a significant industrial center in Telemark. It became a World Heritage Site under the name Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site on 5 July 2015. The town is perhaps best known for the heavy water sabotage operations at the local Vemork hydroelectric power plant during World War II.
Rjukan does not get any direct sunlight between September and March because the low sun is blocked by the tall Gaustatoppen mountain located directly to the south. In 2013, at a cost of 5 million kr, an art project called the Sunmirror in Rjukan built several large mirrors on the northern mountainside above the town to reflect the Sun down into the town during these dark months. The mirrors illuminate a small portion of the town square each day.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Rjukan?
Within an hour or so of Rjukan: Gaustatoppen (4 km), Vemork (6 km), Heddal Stave Church (47 km).
Are there any good drives near Rjukan?
The nearest famous roads are Hardangervidda Mountain Plateau Road (Rv7), Hardangerfjord Road and Hardanger Bridge (Rv7) and Suleskarvegen (Fv337).
Where is Rjukan?
Rjukan is in Telemark, Norway, about 35 km from Sauland.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 3,568
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Norway
- Region
- Telemark
- Timezone
- Europe/Oslo
- Coordinates
- 59.8789, 8.5941
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Norway
Many toll roads use automatic plate recognition (AutoPASS). Headlights required at all times.
Full driving guide for NorwayTags
Worth the detour from Rjukan
3 notable places within an hour's drive.
museum
Vemork
The 1911 Vemork power plant outside Rjukan, target of the WWII heavy-water sabotage raids that crippled the Nazi atomic programme, now the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum. Part of the Rjukan–Notodden UNESCO site.
6 km · about 10 min drive
cathedral
Heddal Stave Church
Norway's largest stave church, a triple-naved wooden cathedral raised around 1200 and still the parish church of Notodden. Its tiered shingled roofs rise like a dark pagoda beside route E134 through Telemark.
47 km · about 55 min drive
Driving roads near Rjukan
9 named roads, passes and coastal drives within 150km.
- Right hereGaustatoppenFrom the summit you can see roughly a sixth of mainland Norway on a clear day. Reached on foot or by the old cold-war railway inside the mountain.
- 79 kmHardangervidda Mountain Plateau Road (Rv7)National Tourist Route crossing Europe's largest high mountain plateau between Eidfjord and Geilo, with treeless arctic scenery and wild reindeer herds either side of the road.
When to drive here
May to September
Far northern latitude: short daylight hours outside summer make long drives harder.
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