The Rauma Railway
Provided by:
GuideToGo AS
This is a demo for English voiceover for Romsdalen AS.
Audio guides available in:
English (British)
To find more content and listen to free audio guides, download the Voice of Norway app.
Provided by:
GuideToGo AS
This is a demo for English voiceover for Romsdalen AS.
To find more content and listen to free audio guides, download the Voice of Norway app.
Here, surrounded by majestic mountains, deep and lush valleys and emerald green rivers, lies Åndalsnes, or Tindebyen which is full of spectacular experiences. The town was also at the centre of one of the second world war’s largest battles, during which the whole of Norway’s gold reserve was at stake. In dramatic fashion, Norwegian and English soldiers together with hundreds of heroic volunteers managed to save the Norwegian gold and cash reserves, whilst howling German bombs squealed around them leaving the whole town in ruins. Both the town and the steadfast people rose up again and to this day exist as a hub between the fantastic Norwegian mountain experiences both in Summer and Wintertime. The idyllic fjord centre has all you need and more. We recommend the spectacular walk up the Romsdalstrappene to the Rampestreken viewpoint, which literally hangs out 8 meters in the air, giving you an eagle’s eye view over Åndalsnes and the beautiful Romasdal fjord. On your way down again we recommend taking the award winning Romsdal Gondola for all of you without a fear of heights. And if you should hear some rough guitar riffs or some banging dance tunes, then maybe Raumarock or another of Åndalsnes’ famous music festivals is taking place.
Several decades before sports angling became popular in the Rauma area, stories are told about the English Lord Beresford and his friend William Bromley-Davenport who came to Veblungsnes on the yacht Coral Queen a day in June 1849. As soon as they saw the estuary of the Rauma river they visited the post master to inquire about the possibilities for salmon fishing. They were advised to move up the river, to Fiva, which at the time was owned by a young girl, Marianne Løchra. In a letter to his father, Willaim describes his experiences from fishing in Rauma: "…after 14 pleasant days by Romsdalsfjorden, where we in a river called Rauma caught nearly 330 salmon - an enormous quantity, and more than has ever been caught here even with a fishing net over a whole summer. It is strange that these people don't learn fly fishing, since their existence is almost entirely dependent on the fish they catch. As we gave away almost all the fish, except what we needed ourselves, we were welcome quests, and a large number of these poor farmers gathered around us and screamed with joy as we pulled salmon after salmon out of the river. They though it was some kind of magic. Many of them assured us before we started that it was impossible to catch this big salmon with such simple equipment and angles." William later returned to Romsdalen and established a home here by buying Fiva in 1862. To this date, Fiva is owned by his successors, carrying his name.
(Photo: Øyvind Heen - Visitnorway.com) The Romsdalen valley is long and narrow with majestic towering mountains on either side. Along the valley floor in a wild and beautiful setting runs the foaming salmon river, Rauma. At Verma, the Rauma goes through a 30-40 meter high gorge and forms the waterfall Slettafossen. Scandinavian rock climbing started in the Romsdal mountains, which boast some of the world's most difficult climbs. At 1,000 metres, Trollveggen, the Troll Wall, is Europe's tallest vertical, overhanging rock face. On the opposite side of the valley, the Romsdalshorn peak towers to a height of 1,555 metres. Romsdalshorn is a very popular climbing site for Norwegian as well as international climbers. The Romsdalen mountains are also popular among base jumbers. However, from the late 1980s base jumping from Trollveggen has been illegal, after a number of serious accidents with risky and expensive rescue operations.