Where to stay in Notodden
Most visitors base themselves in the town centre on the lake. It keeps the hotels close to the shore of Heddalsvatnet, the shops and Notodden kirke, with the Telemark kunstmuseum and the industrial heritage waterfront within an easy walk. Staying here puts you at the heart of the north-eastern part of Telemark, where the Tinn river runs down into the lake and the old factory quarter lines the water.
Further out the municipality opens up. The village of Heddal, with its Heddal bygdetun open-air museum, sits a short way off along the Heddøla, and the scattered settlements of Gransherad and Bolkesjø reach into the hills of Aust-Telemark. Stay central first.
Choose the outlying villages if you want quiet lakeside or forest surroundings and don't mind a drive into the heritage core. Both make a fine base.
Things to do in Notodden
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
- Telemark kunstmuseum
Churches & Religious Sites
- Lisleherad kirke Heritage-listed
- Notodden kirke
- Låvekirken i Heddal
Stadiums & Sports
- Idrettsparken — football stadium
About Notodden
What is Notodden known for?
Industry put Notodden on the map. The town shares the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, a UNESCO listing for the hydropower and fertiliser story of Aust-Telemark, with its neighbour Rjukan. Culture and the lake fill out the picture.
The Telemark kunstmuseum shows regional art, the Heddal bygdetun open-air museum keeps the old farm buildings, and the shore of Heddalsvatnet gives the town its setting in the north-eastern part of Telemark.
What are the main landmarks in Notodden?
Heritage anchors the town. Its industrial waterfront forms part of the UNESCO Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, and the Telemark kunstmuseum draws visitors to the centre. Churches and old farms fill in the rest.
Notodden kirke and Lisleherad kirke serve the parishes, while out at Heddal the Heddal bygdetun open-air museum and the Låvekirken i Heddal preserve the rural past, and the Idrettsparken stadium keeps the sporting fixtures of the north-eastern part of Telemark.
What is the history of Notodden?
Water power made the modern town. Notodden grew where the Tinn river drops into Heddalsvatnet, and the falls drove the hydropower and fertiliser industry that turned a lakeside settlement into an industrial centre of the north-eastern part of Telemark in the early twentieth century. The plants came fast.
That works heritage, shared with Rjukan up the valley, is the reason the two towns now sit together on the UNESCO Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site. The district is far older than its factories. The farms of Heddal and the surrounding parishes, recorded at the Heddal bygdetun open-air museum, worked this corner of Aust-Telemark long before industry arrived, and Lisleherad kirke and Notodden kirke mark the older congregations.
Industry reshaped the town, but the rural Telemark around it kept its own deep roots beside the lake.
Where is Notodden?
Notodden sits at the head of Heddalsvatnet in the north-eastern part of Telemark, where the lake gathers the rivers of the inland valleys. The Tinn river enters the town from the north and the Heddøla flows in past Heddal, both feeding the lake that gives the town its waterfront. Hills close in around it.
The forested ridges of Aust-Telemark rise from the shore and frame the lakeside town below.
What is the climate of Notodden?
The inland valley gives Notodden a temperate climate with firm seasons. Far from the coast in the north-eastern part of Telemark, the town has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, the lake of Heddalsvatnet softening the sharpest swings along its shore. Rain and snow both feature.
Spring and autumn turn the wooded ridges of Aust-Telemark above the water through their changing colours.
How do you get to Notodden?
Notodden is the road gateway into the Telemark interior. It sits on the routes that climb from the lowlands up toward Rjukan and the highland valleys, linking the town to the wider corridors of south-eastern Norway. A small airport serves the area too.
The strip lies near Heddal on the Heddøla, while most travellers arrive overland into the lakeside centre by the main roads through the north-eastern part of Telemark.