Norway

Odda

At the head of the Sørfjord, deep inside the Hardangerfjord.

Odda lies at the very head of the Sørfjord, the longest arm of the Hardangerfjord, framed by steep mountainsides, orchards and the Folgefonna glacier plateau to the west. The town is the traditional centre of inner Hardanger and the natural starting point for excursions into some of Norway's best known mountain landscapes.

Sailing into Odda means sailing the full length of the Sørfjord — some 40 kilometres of fjord lined with waterfalls, fruit farms and small settlements clinging to the shore. In late spring the slopes above the water are white with apple and cherry blossom; in autumn the same orchards are heavy with fruit sold from roadside stalls.

History

Until the beginning of the twentieth century Odda was a farming and tourist village, visited by cruise steamers and by British travellers on their way to the glacier. That changed in 1906, when a carbide works was established to make use of the hydropower falling from the mountains above the fjord. A smelting works followed at nearby Tyssedal, and within a few years the quiet fjord village had become one of Norway's most important industrial towns.

The industrial buildings, power stations and workers' housing of Odda and Tyssedal are today regarded as a key part of Norwegian industrial heritage. The Tyssedal power station, completed in 1908, is preserved as a museum of hydropower and industry, and the wider Odda–Tyssedal landscape has been proposed for UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Landscape

Odda sits between two glaciers: Folgefonna, Norway's third largest icecap, to the west, and the Hardangervidda plateau to the east. Meltwater from both feeds the rivers and waterfalls that made the town's industry possible.

The best known walk in the district leads to Trolltunga, the rock shelf projecting some 700 metres above Lake Ringedalsvatnet. It is a long and demanding full-day hike. Gentler alternatives include the Buerbreen glacier arm, the Låtefossen twin waterfall south of town, and the old cable-car track at Tyssedal.