Greetings from Telemark. Update from the Cultural Heritage project partners.
23. August 2005
 
The Telemark waterway can roughly be divided into 3 parts: fjords, canal and rivers.
 
When we decided that we wanted to focus on the cultural heritage along the waterway, we had to make some limitations as to what area to include, and we chose to concentrate the cultural activities around the canal.

The Telemark Canal is one of Norway’s most fascinating tourist attractions. The Canal is 105 kms. long and stretches from the beautiful coastline to the foot of the high mountains.

There are eight locks with 18 flights of lock chambers in all. The difference in height is as much as 72 m. The Telemark Canal was completed in 1892 and today, more than a century later, is still operated in the same old way with the gates being turned by hand.

There are both an east and a west part of the canal. In the west part of the canal, we have the locks, and in the east we have beautiful scenery and landscape where you will find tracks from earlier times. A journey along the canal is truly a journey through more than a thousand years of the history of Telemark.

Our project wants to make the area more interesting for visitors and local citizens. We want to put up signs that explain the history and make people aware of the geology which is rather exciting. Lots of graves, bygdeborger and we know that there have been trade with countries in the North of Europe before the time of the Vikings.

In this part of the canal, we still have timber floating, and we want to take care of and keep the tools that are used for this transport.

In the canal, there are about 40 jetties. Some in good shape and still in use, but others are really in need of restoration.

We have decided to spend some money from the project to improve and restore one of the oldest jetties. The jetty does not belong to the canal, but is in private ownership.

The owner is very interested in restoring the property, but cannot manage all the expenses by himself. The project has engaged an architect to give some good examples and advice, so that the owner can start to restore the bridge. We have also sent an application to the Norwegian Central Government to provide funding to complete this restoration.

The Canal was carved out of mountains by hand, the oldest part between 1854 and 1861.

From 1887, more than 500 men worked on this canal that even today is a major link between the heart of Telemark and the outside world. It was built as a general waterway for public transport, tourism and not least for transportation of timber, functions that the Canal provides to this present day. At the very opening on the 20th of September in 1892, the Canal was promoted as the most spectacular waterway in Europe.

People have lived along the waterway and the canal for centuries and still do. In our project, we wanted to collect pictures from everyday life connected to the waterway. More than 500 pictures have been registered and scanned on the web site of the canal. Go to http://www.telemarkskanalen.no

We have also started a new project called \\\\\\\'The Middle Ages along the canal\\\\\\\', and we will tell you more about this at a later date.

Best Wishes to all our friends in the Canal link project from Alfhild and Elisabeth.


 
 
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