Måbødalen

Måbødalen

View of the Vøringfossen and the Måbødalen canyon
Måbødalen

Hordaland, Norway

Floor elevation 74 m (243 ft)
Long-axis direction E-W
Long-axis length 7 km (4.3 mi)
Width 800 m (2,600 ft)
Geology
Type River canyon
Geography
Coordinates 60°25′01″N 07°08′51″E / 60.41694°N 7.14750°ECoordinates: 60°25′01″N 07°08′51″E / 60.41694°N 7.14750°E
Population centers Øvre Eidfjord
Watercourses Bjoreio river

Måbødalen is a narrow valley in the municipality of Eidfjord in Hordaland county, Norway. The 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) long valley begins at the village of Øvre Eidfjord and ends at the Sysendalen valley on the western side of the Hardangervidda plateau. The valley contains one of the most notable waterfalls in the country: Vøringfossen, which is easily accessible via Norwegian National Road 7 (Rv7).[1]

View of the "old" road through Måbødalen

The first road through the Måbødalen valley was built during the period of 1900-1916. Consisting of three tunnels and three bridges, it is characterized by its many hairpin turns. The road is widely used by pedestrians and cyclists today and it is regarded as a good example of early 20th century road engineering. This was the first road connection between Eastern and Western Norway over the Hardangervidda plateau when it was finally completed in 1928. A new road through Måbødalen was opened in 1986, and it replaced the old road (which was not removed). The new road is wider and has many more tunnels to replace the narrow, old road and all its hairpin turns. The Måbødalen bus accident occurred in 1988 on the new road.

The Fossli Hotel is situated on top of the mountain, overlooking the Måbødalen valley and the Føringfossen waterfall, just off Rv7. The hotel owns a Zimmermann piano where Edvard Grieg composed Norwegian Folk Songs, Opus 66 (1896). In 1854, Johan Christian Dahl painted Måbødalen, a landscape painting of the area. The painting is in the art museum in Bergen.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Visit Norway. "Vøringsfossen Waterfall". Visit Norway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Store norske leksikon. "Måbødalen" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2014-05-30.

External links