Alvdal is a parish of approximately 2.500 inhabitants and a area of 943,0 km2, situated in Nord-Østerdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Alvdal. The Rørosbane railway line passes through Alvdal. Alvdal is bordered by Tynset to the north, Rendalen to the east and south, Stor-Elvdal to the south, and Folldal to the west. The highest mountain in the municipality is Storsølnkletten at 1,827 metres tall. Tron, Tronden or Trondfjell mountain is 1.665 meters and close to Alvdal. It lies on the border to Tynset. Alvdal was called Lille-Elvedalen until 1917. The built-up area is concentrated along the rivers Glomma and Folla, which meet at the center of Alvdal, called Steia. North Europes biggest canyon Jutulhogget, lies in the municipalities of Alvdal and Rendalen.
Alvdal is an agricultural village, but do also has industry and service trade important to the local community. One of the oldest skis ever found in Norway, was found here in Alvdal, and Alvdal as a ski village has reared many well-known names through the ages. The municipality also has ski in its coat-of-arms symbol.
Writer and humorist Kjell Aukrust was born in Alvdal. The Aukrustsenteret is dedicated to him. Aukrust is most famous for creating the fictional Norwegian village of Flåklypa and its cast of idiosyncratic characters.
KJELL AUKRUST
Kjell Aukrust was a Norwegian author, poet and artist. He was born in Alvdal. He is most famous for his memoirs of his childhood in Alvdal in the books Simen, Bonden and Bror Min, and his creation of the fictional Norwegian village of Flåklypa and its cast of idiosyncratic characters. This setting was the basis of the 1975 animated film “Flåklypa Grand Prix”, directed by Ivo Caprino. The film was the first full length animated feature in Norway, became an international success and has been translated into more than seventy languages. In Britain it is known as “Pinchcliffe Grand Prix”. The protagonist Reodor Felgen (English version: Theodore Rimspoke) has become synonymous in Norway with Rube Goldberg type contraptions.
Some of the characters who populated the village of Pinchcliffe were also the basis for the first full length handdrawn animated feature in Norway, “Solan, Ludvig og Gurin med reverompa”. Released in 1998, this movie takes place in Oslo and Alvdal. In Britain it is known as “Gurin with the Foxtail”.
ALVDAL CHURCH
The church was drawn by C.H.Grosch, who also was the architect of the Universiry of Oslo and the cathedral of Tromsø. The church was finished in 1861, and is a large and plain church, that according to original drawing holds 602 persons. The church is representative for it’s period. The altarpiece, painted in Munich in 1882 by the Norwegian painter Carl Fridtjof Smith, was ordered by and settled of the storekeeper Ingebret Eggen in Trondheim. The piece was given as a gift to the church i 1883, with a wish for honoring the memory of Ingebret Eggen´s wife, Marit Halvorsdatter.
The two wall carpets hanging on each side of the altar piece, are a gift from Trygve Gjelten and his children; “In memory of Kristine Gjelten”. The carpets are drawn by Unni-Lise Jonsmoen and weaved by Anne Grete Stuksrud. The present organ is built by Bruno Christensen & sons in Denmark, and was taken into service in 1980. There are two bells in the tower, they were transferred from the St. Nicolai church (previous chuch in Alvdal). The bells are from 1740 and 1778.
Glomma, Norway´s longest river. At various points the river has created super beaches ideal for bathing and different forms of boating sports. Glomma is one of Norway´s best rivers for fishing, and in the currents by the bridge anglers can catch many kinds of fish including trout. The numerous lakes and rivers in the district are also worth trying. It is possible to enjoy the open-air life the whole year round in many different ways. Perch, pike and different variety of carp are the dominant species. They are more numerous in the slower water of the watercourse and in the estuaries where the tributaries join. Here perch and pike can reach a considerable size.
In parts of the Glom where the current is strongest, and downstream from power station dams, large trout can be found. The access to fishing along the Glomma varies. Cultivated land and undergrowth restrict access and fishing from land in many places. On both sides of the river there is a comprehensive road system. From the roads, and where the bridges cross the river, it is often possible to reach suitable fishing places. Good local knowledge is important, therefore talk to the locals! Fishing along the main watercourse is regulated to a small degree.
ALVDAL MUSEUM
Northern Husan, or Husantunet in everyday speech, is one of Norway´s best preserved country courtyards, with totally 18 buildings, all of them preserved at their original site. The oldest one, “The little Booth”, is from the last part of the 1600´s. Husantunet presents a good view of the life of an average family in Alvdal from the first part of the 17th century through the present time. The courtyard was scheduled as an ancient monument in 1941, expropriated by the municipality in 1942/43, and opened as a museum in 1958. Husantunet is opened for guided tours during the summertime.
NYHUS TANNERY
Nyhus garveri (tannery) was founded by the farmer at Nyhus farm ca. 1880, and was, with the passage of time, a considerable trade with customers from most part of Hedmark and the surrounding counties. Tanning is the process of working up hide and leather. The tannery was never actually wound up, the door was just closed when the last tanner retired in the 1960’s. That’s why the tannery is completely equipped with tools, semimanufacture and finished products. The tannery was taken over by the municipality in 1977.
BARKALDSCHOOL
Barkald skole (school) was in activity from 1892 to 1943. The municipality took over the building in 1982. They’ve published a little booklet about Barkald school with extract of minute books for Barkald school and Barkald district.
AURSJØBEKKEN MILL
Aursjøbekken kvern (mill) is probably from 1842. The creek Aursjøbekken is the border between Alvdal and Rendalen parishes. The mill was in activity until 1939, and the municipality took over in 1977. It was a comprehensive restoration work to be done before the mill could be used to grind meal again, which is mainly done when school classes are visiting.
ST. KNUT and ST. THOMAS MINE
It also used to be mining in Alvdal, and the area of Tron Mt. had especially big activity. In 1783 they started mining activities in what later has been called “Old Tronsli Mines”. Later on it has been activities in more mines at this area, in different periods through 1911. There are still traces left, and the hoist at the Tjurrumyr(“tar marsh”)mine is now partially restored.
LOVISE MELTING HUT
Lovise Hytte (melting hut) at Plassen area in Alvdal is the rest of one of the oldest industry societies in Østerdalen. The activity in the melting hut was originally started in the middle of the 1650’s by Elvedalske Verk, and lasted for about 20 years. The activity restarted in 1748, connected to the great ore occurence in the neighbour parish Folldal. Melting hut, mill, and later a sawmill, were built at Lovise Hytte then. It burned down in 1879, and that was the end of the melting activity at Plassen.
AERIAL CABLEWAY
To improve the conveyance from the Folldal mines to the railway in Alvdal, they built an aerial cableway. With its 34 kilometres, it was the longest in North-Europe at that time. The cableway was in operation from 1906 to 1970. The cableway is now broken down, but the trace of it is still very visible in the country.
PREHISTORIC MONUMENTS
It’s been undertaken a very comprehensive registration of prehistoric monuments in Alvdal´s outlying fields. Erling Flaten from Alvdal started in 1985 to map animal traps and iron blooms, and Halldor Nyeggen joined him from 1989. The registrations has, as time goes by, extended to concern all kinds of prehistorical monuments, and they have now searched an area of more than 74000 acres. So far they have found:
- about 800 animal burials
- 130 iron blooms
- 44 charcoal pits
- 30 tar pits
- more than 2060 charcoal bottoms
- more than 960 lumber camp sites
- mines
- stone quarries
- sites of shut down mountain farms
- lumber camps
- sites of mills
- sites of band saws
The finds are now marked at economic maps, and Flaten and Nyeggen have been involved in working up cultural paths in Alvdal.
FISHING
Glomma, Norway´s longest river. At various points the river has created super beaches ideal for bathing and different forms of boating sports. Glomma is one of Norway’s best rivers for fishing, and in the currents by the bridge anglers can catch many kinds of fish including trout. The numerous lakes and rivers in the district are also worth trying. It is possible to enjoy the open-air life the whole year round in many different ways. Perch, pike and different variety of carp are the dominant species. They are more numerous in the slower water of the watercourse and in the estuaries where the tributaries join. Here perch and pike can reach a considerable size.
In parts of the Glom where the current is strongest, and downstream from power station dams, large trout can be found. The access to fishing along the Glomma varies. Cultivated land and undergrowth restrict access and fishing from land in many places. On both sides of the river there is a comprehensive road system. From the roads, and where the bridges cross the river, it is often possible to reach suitable fishing places. Good local knowledge is important, therefore talk to the locals! Fishing along the main watercourse is regulated to a small degree.
GOLF
Golfclubs in Hedmark.