Notodden: an industrial town
Provided by:
Norsk Industriarbeidermuseum
Notodden is a town with extensive industrial and social history; join us on a narrated tour of the town! In 1900, Notodden was a trading post of less than 1000 inhabitants. During this tour, we will explore how the industrial companies Tinfos and Norsk Hydro built an entire urban community centered around the factories in Notodden. The local industrial companies exploited the hydroelectric energy of the waterfalls to carry out their own pioneering projects. Today, this is referred to as the birth of Norwegian modernity. To preserve this history of technological and societal change for all of humanity, Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. In the app you are currently listening to, you will find a map showing the various stops on the tour. Approach them to activate the narration in the app. We wish you an exciting journey through the local history!
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Points of interest
#1
Tinfos Paper factory
Can you hear the rushing river? The sound comes from the river Tinnelva. It is over 30 kilometers long and flows from the Tinnsjø lake to the Heddalsvatn lake. Right here, at Tinfos, we have the shortest waterfall in Tinnelva: The Tinnfoss waterfall! In the present day, the waterfall is part of a dam system, so it only releases water when the dam is good and full. But, in the past, this was considered a terrific waterfall! Tinnfoss was a nuisance for local forest owners, who constantly had their timber destroyed in the river’s churn. But the power of the waterfall has been utilized for many purposes. The waterfall has been a source for industrial activity for several hundred years, and many of the original buildings are still intact. First there was a grain mill and sawmill here, later a pulp mill, paper mill and power station. The brick building that today houses a museum is the old pulping hall of Tinfos paper factory. Here they produced wood fiber pulp that was resold for use in paper production. In the 1940s, the old pulping hall was converted into a sawmill when a new paper mill was constructed down by the lake. In 1972, the paper mill closed down, and in 1987 the sawmill also closed down, but the power of the waterfall is still used to produce electricity through two power stations.
#2
Power production at Tinfos
You are now standing by Tinfos I. Have you noticed that the short side of the building is decorated with lightning bolts? This should give you a clue about the function of the building: this was the first hydroelectric power station in Notodden. Tinfos I was built by the owners of Tinfos Paper Factory. They wanted to start a calcium carbide plant down by the Heddalsvatn lake, powered by electrical energy from Tinfos I. The power station was in operation from 1901 to 1955, and it served more purposes than the owners of Tinfos had first envisioned. Tinfos I was crucial in Sam Eyde and the Swedes Knut and Markus Wallenberg’s decision to establish their factory in Notodden. They needed electricity to start a trial run production of artificial fertilizer using experimental technology. However, they did not want to build their own power station for this, but they could rent electricity from Tinfos! Tinfos I was extended by 9 meters and got two extra generators to cover the power needs of the industrial endeavor that would become Norsk Hydro. This collaboration would have a major impact on the lives along the waterway. Without Tinfos, there would be no Norsk Hydro in Notodden and Rjukan!
#3
The electric arc furnace - Norway's greatest invention
You are now standing outside Furnace House A, the first production hall for artificial fertilizer. In the early 1900s, Furnace House A housed 32 Birkeland-Eyde electric arc furnaces that received electricity from Hydro's own power station, Svelgfoss I. The electric arc furnace converted air into nitric oxide. This is the first step in the production of artificial fertilizer. The electric arc furnace, also known in English as an arclight furnace, is referred to as Norway's most important invention. Artificial fertilizer contributed to higher yields in agriculture, both in Norway and in many other countries. You can see one of the early furnaces on the terrace outside the furnace house. In Notodden, the technology was tested at an industrial scale and the first large furnace factory was built. The early industrial buildings provided space for two generations of technology for making nitrogen fertilizers and other chemical products. Artificial fertilizer was Norsk Hydro's main product. The story you may know best – heavy water – was a by-product of a later method of producing the necessary chemicals.
#4
Furnace House C
Can you see Kristian Birkeland? The statue stands in front of Building 20, the old Furnace House C in the Hydro industrial park. Kristian Birkeland was an inventor and professor of electromagnetics, and he managed the development of the technology that led to the industrial production of fertilizer at Notodden. In Furnace House C behind the Kristian Birkeland statue, the Norwegian Birkeland/Eyde electric arc furnaces and the German Schönherr furnaces were tested and developed in 1909-10 to find out which could make the most fertilizer. The winner was to be used in the fertilizer factories that were under construction in Rjukan. Imagine, this building was built to house a competition! When the competition was over, Furnace House C was used to produce artificial fertilizer –eventually with only Birkeland’s electric arc furnaces.
#5
Timber floating to the Telemark Canal
Here at Heddalsvatnet lake, timber floating has taken place for hundreds of years. Before Notodden became an industrial city, timber was the only truly profitable product in the local villages and therefore an important export commodity. However, the roads were bad throughout Telemark, and it was difficult to transport timber by horse and cart. Back then, it was simply easier to throw the timber into the water and let the current do the hard work. When logs of timber are transported down rivers or across lakes, we say that they are floated. Timber floating has been organized as we know it today since the 17th century. The timber was floated here via the rivers Heddøla and Tinnelva. And it travelled far! From the 19th century, farmers organized joint floating from Tinnoset, so by the time the timber reached the Heddalsvatn lake, it had already traveled many miles. From the lake, the timber was floated on the Telemark Canal down to Skien, and from that point exported abroad. The Telemark Canal was crucial for the establishment of Norsk Hydro in Notodden and Rjukan. The canal made it possible to transport fertilizer on barges out to the coast by the waterway, and they did this until the railway took over this transport in 1917. Timber was transported on the canal until 2006 when timber trucks took over.