Vøringfossen
{{Infobox waterfall
|name = Vøringsfossen
|image = Voringsfossen waterfall at Eidfjord, Norway.jpg
|image_width =
|caption = Vøringsfossen, view from the top of Måbødalen.
|map = Vestland#Norway
|map_width =
|coordinates = {{Coord|60.426007|7.250926|region:NO|display=inline,title}}
|coords_ref =
|elevation =
|height = {{convert|182|m}}
|height_longest = {{convert|163|m}}
|number_drops = 5
|width =
|average_width = {{convert|23|m}}
|run = {{convert|122|m}}
|watercourse = Bjoreio
|average_flow = {{convert|12|m3/s}}
|world_rank =
|type = Tiered Plunges
}}
Vøringsfossen ({{langx|en|Vøring Falls}}){{cite news|title=Four Exciting Tours|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18485809/vring_falls/|newspaper=Fort Lauterdale News|date=April 15, 1973|page=177|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = March 21, 2018}} {{Open access}}{{cite book|title=Scandinavia '97: The Complete Guide to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden|date=1996|publisher=Fodor's|location=New York|page=356}}{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Benedict|title=Towards a Harmonic Grammar of Grieg's Late Piano Music: Nature and Nationalism|date=2017|publisher=Routledge|location=London|page=12}} is the 83rd highest waterfall in Norway on the basis of total fall. It lies at the top of the Måbødalen valley in the municipality of Eidfjord, in Vestland county. It is located near Norwegian National Road 7,{{cite web|last=Visit Norway|title=Vøringsfossen Waterfall|url=http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Where-to-go/Fjord-Norway/Hardanger/What-to-do-in-Hardanger/Attractions-in-Hardanger/Voringsfossen-waterfall/|publisher=Visit Norway.com|access-date=4 August 2012}} which connects Oslo with Bergen. It has a total drop of {{convert|182|m}},{{cite book|last=Roos|first=Constance|title=Walking in Norway|year=1997|publisher=Cicerone Press Limited|isbn=185-284-230-X|pages=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAhEdsrf6qwC&q=voringsfossen++182&pg=PT45}} and a major drop of {{convert|163|m}}. It is perhaps the most famous in the country and a major tourist attraction on the way down from Hardangervidda to Hardangerfjord.{{Cite book|title=Natural Wonders of the World|publisher=Reader's Digest Association, Inc|year=1980|isbn=0-89577-087-3|editor-last=Scheffel|editor-first=Richard L.|location=United States of America|pages=407|editor-last2=Wernet|editor-first2=Susan J.}}{{wwdb name|id=269}} Accessed on 2020-02-22.
There are several warning signs in regard to the dangers of falling to one's death.[http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article7474463.ece Sikringsarbeidet starter først til neste år] Other measures for preventing deaths were planned for implementation in the spring of 2015, and a stairway bridge opened in 2020.{{cite web |title=Spektakulær gangbru over Vøringsfossen klar for åpning |url=https://www.veier24.no/artikler/spektakulaer-gangbru-over-voringsfossen-klar-for-apning/497768 |website=Veier24.no |language=no |date=20 August 2020}}
Name
History
The waterfall was hardly known by anyone other than locals until 1821. In that year professor Christopher Hansteen, who was on his way to the Hardangervidda plateau to make astronomical observations, estimated the height of the waterfall to be about {{Convert|280|m||abbr=}} by throwing stones down from the edge and measuring the time they took to fall with his pocket watch. In 1893 it was measured with a string, and the real height was revealed to be {{Convert|163|m||abbr=}}.
In 1880 Ola Garen decided to build a hotel at top of the waterfall. The only way up there was a path with 1,500 stairs up Måbøbjerget together with a bridle path that had been built in 1872 to carry English tourists to the waterfall. In 1891 a new road with tunnels was built along Eidfjordvandet, and in the same year the Fossli Hotel was finished,{{cite web|last=Destinosjon Eidfjord|title=Fossli Hotel|url=http://www.hardangerfjord.com/no/Eidfjord1/Produkt/?TLp=34424|publisher=Hardangerfjord.com|access-date=4 August 2012}} designed in Art Nouveau style by architect Frederik Konow Lund. All materials for the construction had to be carried on horseback from Eidfjord up to the top of the hill. Around the year 1900 large cruise ships began to visit Eidfjord, and from there passengers were transported by horse and wagon up the valley.
The composer Edvard Grieg had a log cabin nearby and was a frequent visitor to the falls.
Hydroelectric
The Bjoreio, the small river that flows into Vøringsfossen has a hydroelectric dam in the Sysendalen valley above the falls. The water volume in the river is regulated in connection with power development, but there are requirements for minimum water flow of {{Convert|12|m3/s||abbr=on}} above its natural rate in the summer, {{Clarify span|not enough to benefit the tourist trade.|date=June 2020}}{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}
Pedestrian bridge
A pedestrian bridge has been placed across the ravine in sections by helicopter. One side is sixteen metres higher than the other, and its length is 47 metres.{{cite news|newspaper=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/edition/world/voringsfossen-bridge-is-blot-on-norwegian-landscape-cn85f2hkb|title=Voringsfossen bridge is blot on Norwegian landscape|author=Oliver Moody|date=29 September 2020|access-date=29 September 2020}} The design is by Carl-Viggo Holmebakk. An article in Dagsavisen described it as a bridge reminiscent of "a collapsed scaffold for construction, across" the ravine.[https://www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/egoistiske-eventyrere-1.1789522 Egoistiske eventyrere] [Selfish adventurers]. 20 October 2020
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|Vøringsfossen}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NipVDwjz28A Vøringfossen in June] on YouTube
- [http://www.voringfossen.com/ Voringfossen] Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voringsfossen}}