Romsdalen is a
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
in the western part of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
. The long valley runs through
Rauma Municipality in
Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is t ...
county and
Lesja Municipality in
Innlandet
Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). ...
county. It is the valley of the
Rauma river
The Rauma is a river that runs through ''Romsdalen'', a valley in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties in Norway. It runs for from ''Lesjaskogsvatnet'', a lake in the municipality of Lesja, to the town of Åndalsnes in the municipality of Ra ...
, from
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
word ''Raumsdalr'' which means Rauma valley. The
traditional district of
Romsdal, which makes up about one-third of Møre og Romsdal county, is named for the valley of Romsdalen. The main road
E136 and the Rauma line runs along the valley floor.
''
Mannen'' is an unstable rock above the valley. Mannen is expected to someday slide into the valley floor and block the river. There could be devastating flood downstream, if the river suddenly breaks through the dam created by the rockslide. Around Remmem and Flatmark the valley is littered with huge rocks or boulders that have fallen from the high mountains surrounding the valley.
Trolltindene and other summits on the western edge are protected as part of
Reinheimen National Park. Alpine summits around Isterdalen and Trollstigen are partly within the national park, partly within Trollstigen protected landscape area.
Geography
The valley begins at the lake
Lesjaskogsvatnet and it follows the
Rauma River
The Rauma is a river that runs through ''Romsdalen'', a valley in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties in Norway. It runs for from ''Lesjaskogsvatnet'', a lake in the municipality of Lesja, to the town of Åndalsnes in the municipality of Ra ...
to the northwest to the town of
Åndalsnes, where the river empties into the inner part of the great
Romsdal Fjord
Romsdalsfjord or Romsdal Fjord ( no, Romsdalsfjorden) is the ninth-longest fjord in Norway. It is long and located in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county. It flows through the municipalities of Molde, Ålesund, Vestnes, and Rauma. T ...
. The
Rauma Line and
European Route E136
European route E 136 is a European highway located entirely in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties in Norway. The highway begins in the town of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county on the west coast of Norway, and it goes east up through ...
highway both run through the valley. The
Romsdalsalpene mountains surround the river and the valley, including the mountains
Store Trolltind,
Store Venjetinden,
Trollryggen, and
Romsdalshornet. Romsdalen is joined by the
Isterdalen valley with the
Istra river
Istra () is a river in Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally " und ...
located a few kilometers upstream from
Åndalsnes and the two rivers create terraces of sand and gravel on a deeper layer of clay.
Romsdal Museum () based in the
town of Molde is one of the largest and most extensive folk museums in Norway. The Romsdalen Folk Museum is an outdoor museum which aspects of life in the Romsdalen valley from the 14th to the 20th century.
Summits
Notable
summits around the main valley:
*
Romsdalshornet, at
* Trolltindene including
**
Store Trolltind, at
**
Trollveggen big wall
**
Trollryggen, at
**
Breitind, at
*
Kalskråtinden, at
*
Romsdalseggen
*
Tua (Rauma)
*
Rangåhøgda
Waterfalls
Several of Norway's and the world's tallest waterfalls plunge into the main valley.
*
Vermafossen
Vermafossen or Vermefossen is a waterfall in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The waterfall is on the river Verma which is a tributary to the large river Rauma which flows through the Romsdalen valley. The waterfall is ...
, at in height
*
Døntefossen, at in height with the longest drop at
*
Mongefossen
Mongefossen ( en, Monge falls) is a waterfall in the Rauma Municipality of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is the fourth tallest single-drop waterfall in the world. It's located near the European route E136 highway and the Rauma River, wh ...
, at in height with the longest drop at (listed as
15th tallest in the world)
*
Ølmåafossen, at in height
Isterdalen valley:
*
Stigfossen, at in height with the longest drop at
*
Trollfossen, at in height
Transportation
The
Rauma Line and
European route E136
European route E 136 is a European highway located entirely in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties in Norway. The highway begins in the town of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county on the west coast of Norway, and it goes east up through ...
both run through the valley. The Rauma Line is the only railway line in Møre og Romsdal county and from 1924 until the 1970s, it was the key transport corridor between the county and
Eastern Norway. The E136 highway is the only road between east and west that does not run through a mountain pass and connects the county to eastern Norway's road network. The road through Romsdalen was historically an important access to the ocean for farmers and miners in the eastern uplands. Since at least year 1500 the annual market near Åndalsnes was the largest market place outside Bergen and Trondheim. The iron works at
Lesjaverk
Lesjaverk is a village in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It lies in the upper Gudbrandsdal valley approximately northwest of Dombås and about east of the village of Lesjaskog. The village lies along the European route E136 h ...
transported iron products to the port at
Veblungsnes
Veblungsnes is a village located in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village lies along Romsdal Fjord just across the mouth of the Rauma River from the town of Åndalsnes. The European route E136 highway runs through th ...
.
The road was originally only for riding and walking. Around 1844 it was possible to drive the entire valley. This was at the time one of only two drivable road connections between east and west. When the
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
was introduced in Norway in the 1860s, the line between East Norway and Møre og Romsdal was set up through the valley, as one of only two direct lines between east and west.
Norwegian County Road 63
Norwegian County Road 63 ( no, Fylkesvei 63 or ) is a Norwegian county road in Møre og Romsdal county and a very small part in Innlandet county, Norway. It begins at Norwegian National Road 15 along the lake Langvatnet in Skjåk Municipality in ...
through
Trollstigen mountain pass to Valldal was completed in 1936, with connections to the village of
Geiranger
Geiranger is a small tourist village in Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county in the western part of Norway. It is in the municipality of Stranda at the head of the Geirangerfjorden, which is a branch of the large Storfjorden. The neare ...
.
Name
The
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
form of the name was ''Raumsdalr''. The first element is the genitive case of a name ''Raumr'' probably the old (uncompounded) name of
Romsdal Fjord
Romsdalsfjord or Romsdal Fjord ( no, Romsdalsfjorden) is the ninth-longest fjord in Norway. It is long and located in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county. It flows through the municipalities of Molde, Ålesund, Vestnes, and Rauma. T ...
, again derived from the name of the river Rauma. The second part of the word is ''dalr'' which means "
dale
Dale or dales may refer to:
Locations
* Dale (landform), an open valley
* Dale (place name element)
Geography
;Australia
* The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean
;Canada
* Dale, Ontario
;Ethiopia
* Dale (woreda), district
;Norway
* ...
" or "
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
". Thus the name means "The Dale of Rauma".
Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is t ...
county is partly named after the Romsdal district, which in turn got its name from the valley. The county was previously called Romsdals amt (literally Romsdal's county).
Tourism
Tourism and angling in the Rauma river became an important business during the 19th century, wealthy Englishmen were the most important visitors. General William Bromley-Davenport purchased Fiva farm in 1849 and the 12 best kilometers of the river. Norway's first golf course was laid out in 1905 at Hølgenes hotel (later named Park hotel) by the English owner. The Romsdalen valley and the
Romsdalen Alps are one of the most important climbing venues in Norway and Northern Europe.
The steep and demanding
Trollveggen is a classic in Norwegian rock face climbing.
William Cecil Slingsby visited Romsdalen in 1875 and later.
Arne Randers Heen was a local climber with several first ascents.
In fiction
The fictional detective
Harry Hole
Harry Hole (the surname pronounced as "HOO-leh"), whose name translates to "Harry Hill" in English and is also called "Harry Holy" by allies in the Australian police force,'' The Bat'' by James Nesbø, first novel of the Harry Hole series. Origi ...
is mentioned as being originally from
Åndalsnes in the Romsdalen valley, while the series' writer
Jo Nesbø
Jo Nesbø (; born Jon Nesbø; 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated ...
is actually from
Molde
Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord.
The administrative centre of t ...
in the same region. ''
The Bat'', first book in the Harry Hole series, includes a passage of reminiscences, which might be based on the writer's own experiences:
In the 1995 survival horror video game
''Clock Tower: The First Fear'', the Barrows Mansion (the primary setting for the game) is situated in the mountains of Romsdalen.
History
In 1612, a group of some 300 Scottish mercenaries landed near Åndalsnes and marched through the valley towards Sweden.
The group was later massacred at
Battle of Kringen
Battle of Kringen ( no, Slaget ved Kringen) involved an ambush by Norwegian peasant militia of Scottish mercenary soldiers who were on their way to enlist in the Swedish army for the Kalmar War.
The battle has since become a part of folklore ...
.
After the
German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, British troops landed at Åndalsnes and
Namsos in an attempt to liberate Trondheim through large
pincer movement. British vanguard force arrived at Åndalsnes on 12 April. The main landing of British troops, consisting primarily of the British 148th Infantry Brigade and commanded by Major General
Bernard Paget, occurred on 17 April.
On the day of the invasion, German troops immediately took control of Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim, while Åndalsnes and the towns of Møre og Romsdal remained free. Åndalsnes was the only free port with a railway connection south of Trondheim. The first British troops travelled from Åndalsnes to Dombås, a key road and railway junction, on April 19.
When the German invasion began
the national gold holding was evacuated from Oslo through Romsdalen to Åndalsnes and Molde, and then by ship to Tromsø.
References
{{Authority control
Lesja
Rauma, Norway
Valleys of Innlandet
Valleys of Møre og Romsdal