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Heddal Stave Church
The world’s largest stave church
Built in 1147, the Heddal Stave Church is considered to be the world’s largest stave church, still in use after centuries that have spanned the end of the Viking era to this very day. Here you will find a collage of masterful architecture, legend and myths. Actually, according to the official legend at the Heddal Stave Church, one of the local farmers, “Red Rygi”, tricked the troll Finn into building the church. After the troll realized he had been fooled, he went to the mountain Himingen and threw down a stone, which is the pillory that still stands at the gate to this very day.
The Vikings were known as skilled craftsmen, considered by many to be greatest shipbuilders in history. While the rest of Europe built cathedrals of stone, the men of what was to become Telemark cut down the mighty pines in Heddal and used all their power to create something that would last forever. The architecture signals a mix of the old Norse believes and the new Christianity, which was rather slow to enter this part the Wild Telemark.
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If the walls could talk....
If the walls of Heddal Stave Church could talk, they would have a lot to say. They have seen the old Telemark warriors, direct descendants of the Vikings, they have seen the rise of Christianity and later the Reformation. They have seen the Black Death come and go, and the church stands still here today, just as when it was finished in the first half of the 13th century.
You can experience a legend that remains to this day, intact in all its glory. Contact the Wild Telemark for a guided tour of Heddal Stave Church.
For more information or booking, contact Notodden Experiences here​ or by phone +47 916 95 196.
Or send us an email to info@wildtelemark.com
Admini in Notodden
A Norwegian Legend
One of the most important buildings in Norwegian history, the Admini did not manufacture or produce any products, it was built simply to impress the world. It symbolizes the beginning of the 2nd Industrial Revolution – clean hydropower - that Sam Eyde and Norsk Hydro created at the turn of the 20th century - literally saving the world from starvation.
More money than all the banks combined
With the Admini in Notodden as his base from 1906, Sam Eyde managed to raise more money than all of the banks of Norway had in their vaults – combined. Chairman Eyde had a home and office in the building when he was in Notodden, and all-important guests were received and lodged there.
The Admini played a most important role in the effort to raising these funds for the industrial development, with Hydro's international guests enjoying this beautiful estate overlooking Hydro Industrial Park in Notodden.
The White House of Telemark
Even today, over 100 years after it was built, the structure stands tall and overlooks the Hydro Industrial Park as if nothing has changed. It is as beautiful and strong as ever. On the outside the Admini resembles The White House in Washington DC with its great white Ionic pillars. That is why we understandably call it “The White House of Telemark”. Once you are inside, you will see it looks typical Norwegian, with wooden and mythical architecture.
Find out more about the Admini, and how you can experience a legend that remains to this day, intact in all its glory, contact us here at the Wild Telemark
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You can also learn more about the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage story - a free interactive e-book available for all in both English and Norwegian.
Gold Medal Cider
A taste adventure deep in Telemark
Known as the best cider farm in Norway, Nerø farm fruit trees here enjoy the sunshine from all directions. All is organic here, and the taste of the apples and cherries reflect the clear Heddal Lake below. The Nerø farm won the World Gold Medal for one of its produces in the fall of 2022, and in March 2023, they won the Norwegian gold medal for its cider in March 2023, and now you can get a tour of this unique farm on the sunny slopes just south of Notodden.
Enjoy the award-winning cider - both with and without alcohol – while you admire Heddal Lake below with a enjoying the stunning view north towards the tallest mountain in all of Telemark (Gaustatoppen),
Nero chooses the very best apples to produce cider from. Not necessarily the prettiest - but the best. The apples are pressed into raw juice which, after several months of cool fermentation and a little farmer's magic, becomes the Norwegian champagne.
Find out more about what you can experience at the Nerø Farm – offering the best cider farm in all of Norway. For more information or booking, contact Notodden Experiences here​ or by phone +47 916 95 196.
Or send us an email to info@wildtelemark.com
World Heritage Tour
World Changer
It was just over a century ago here in south-central Norway that a major transformation took place. During the course of just a short decade, power plants, factories, transport systems and company towns were created, all with the immediate goal of producing natural fertilizer needed by the world.
This is known as the 2nd Industrial Revolution – use of clean hydroelectric (water) power for industrial production. It all began here in Notodden. You can find the complete story of this innovative industrial adventure in the Wild Telemark UNESCO e-book (free) which you can read online here.
But to complete this experience, you must see the original facilities firsthand. Join us on a tour as we visit the first hydroelectric power plant at Tinfos, the original test facilities at Hydropark, Norway’s first – and most charming – worker company housing at Grønnbyen (Green Town), and find out more about the tours of Admini – “The White House of Telemark”.
For more information or booking, contact Notodden Experiences here​ or by phone +47 916 95 196.
Or send us an email to info@wildtelemark.com
Art Street
Art Street - Notodden's Creative Heart Home of Galleri Grette
Art Steet is the perfect setting for an art and cultural environment a creative area that includes the music store Ljosland Musikk as well as the historic Alfhild Jørgensen Yarn and Arts Boutique offering the national costume (“bunad”) and accessories, gifts, arts, and crafts.
Here on Art Street you will also find the local painting club Paletten, several tattoo studios and the city's nicest cafe with outdoor seating: Felicia's Have (Felicia’s Garden).
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Home of Galleri Grette
But it is Galleri Grette, featuring the art of the renowned artist Tor Arne Moen that is the centerpiece of Art Street. Located on Oscar Nissens gate 6, to the revered building locally known as the "Wormsen farm", it is a special building, even recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Tor Arne Moen is a much-respected painter and graphic artist who has painted the covers of Nobel Literature Prize Winner Knut Hamsun’s collected works He started painting with oil colors at the age of nine, and until he was 19 years old he painted traditional landscapes. His big breakthrough came with a series of oil paintings for Hamsun's collected works in 1994, which was also Moen's major of studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Bergen.
In the years since he had dozens of exhibitions and has explored his art through many painting projects, such as: motorcycles, portraits, still life, spring flowers and interiors. It was just a few years back that he took up the landscape again as a genre that he had not painted since he was 19, some years back in his long and illustrious career.
A "must" while in Notodden!
Come experience the creativity. Gallery Grette and Art Street is a place you will certainly want to put on your list of “must visits” on your next trip to Notodden.
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For more information or booking, contact Notodden Experiences here​ or by phone +47 916 95 196.
Or send us an email to info@wildtelemark.com
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Photos on this page courtesy of Daniel Karlsen.
