Reiårsfossen is a tall

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

Setesdal Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the val ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The waterfall is located along the

Norwegian National Road 9 Norwegian National Road 9 (, ) is often called the ''Setesdal Road'' () and it is the main thoroughfare through the Setesdalen valley. It runs from the city of Kristiansand in the southern coast of Norway, through the Torridal and Setesdal v ...

, just south of the village of Ose in the municipality of

Bygland Bygland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bygland ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

county. The waterfall flows down into a short stream before emptying into the northern end of the

Åraksfjorden Åraksfjorden is a lake in the municipality of Bygland in Agder county, Norway. The lake is part of the Otra drainage basin. The northern part of the lake is fed directly by the river Otra. The southern part of the lake goes through a narrow ...

. The area, which contains several of creeks and rivers, was protected by law in 1973.

The legend

Reiårsfossen got its name because one of the workmen's sons, ''Reiår'' (old spelling for Reidar), had fallen in love with a ''farm girl'' in Ose. To have her, the farmer had the condition that he should ride over the top of the falls three times. He did this, but the legend goes on to say that he wanted to take one more trip over the falls in honor of his upcoming wedding. This (fourth) trip, however, had fatal consequences, and both the horse and Reiår fell down and died.

Camping, fishing and country music

The waterfall has become a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

and there is a public campground, Camp Reiårsfossen, just to the east on the shores of the

. This campground holds annual festivals and events such as the Ose Country Festival (

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

) and also a fishing festival. There is a full-year

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

to the top of the falls and further inland to the lake Reiårsvann.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reiaarsfossen Setesdal Landforms of Agder Waterfalls of Norway Tourist attractions in Agder Bygland

The legend

Camping, fishing and country music

See also

References