See photos of Notodden on Google Images →
Notodden is Telemark’s UNESCO-stamped blues basin - a municipality where stave churches rise beside hydropower plants, electric surfboards skim across lakes, and lightning bolts decorate the coat of arms. With around 13,000 residents and a landscape shaped by the Heddalsvatnet lake, Tinnelva river, and the villages of Heddal, Gransherad, and Bolkesjø, Notodden is the kind of place where you can hike past waterfalls, explore industrial heritage, and still catch a guitar solo beside a juke joint. It’s got grit, groove, and a name that means “headland for net fishing.”
Top Attractions
Heddal Stave Church
Norway’s largest stave church, built ~1250 with dragon carvings & medieval murals
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Telemark Art Museum
exhibitions on Theodor Kittelsen, industrial heritage & contemporary Norwegian art
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Bok & Blueshuset
library, cinema, café & blues museum with Morgan Freeman voiceover tour
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Tinnfossen Waterfall
dramatic river cascade beside UNESCO-listed hydropower site
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Notodden Blues Festival
Europe’s largest blues festival with concerts, workshops & walk of fame
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Unique Experiences
Electric Surfing
ride Norway’s first electric surfboards on Heddalsvatnet
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Flying Spitfire Tour
scenic flight in WWII-era aircraft over Telemark’s lakes & peaks
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Telemark Canal Cruise
boat journey through locks & lakes from Skien to Notodden
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Heddal Bygdetun
open-air museum with 500-year-old farm buildings & folk costumes
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
UNESCO Industrial Walk
self-guided trail past hydropower stations & fertilizer factories
See on Tripadvisor · 📍
Where to Stay in Notodden
Getting There
Notodden lies along the E134 highway, about 1 hr 45 min from Oslo by car. Buses run hourly from Oslo and Bergen, and the Telemark Canal connects via boat in summer. The town has a small airport (no commercial flights) and is best explored by boots, bike, or bold curiosity - especially if you’re chasing stave echoes, blues riffs, or the hush of birch leaves beside a waterfall trail.