Trollstigen (or trollstigvegen; Aasen, Ivar (1850): Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog. Kristiania: Carl C. Werner) is a serpentine mountain road and pass in Rauma Municipality, Møre og Romsdal County, Norway.

It is part of Norwegian County Road 63 that connects the town of Åndalsnes in Rauma and the village of Valldal in Fjord Municipality. It is a popular tourist attraction for its steep incline of 10% and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountainside. During the peak of the tourist season, about 2,500 vehicles pass daily pass this landmark.Sunnmørsposten 26 July 2012 p. 12.NRK news (accessed 21 September 2012) During the 2012 season, 161,421 vehicles traversed the route, compared to 155,230 vehicles during 2009.Adresseavisen, 10 November 2012.

The road is narrow with many sharp bends, and although several bends were widened during 2005 to 2012,Statens vegvesen vehicles over long are prohibited from driving the road. During the 2011 and 2012 seasons, buses up to were temporarily allowed as a trial.NRK news May 28, 2011 (accessed 23 September 2012)Statens vegvesen At the plateau are a car park and several viewing balconies overlooking the bends and the Stigfossen waterfall. Stigfossen falls down the mountainside. The pass has an elevation of approximately .

Trollstigen is closed during late autumn and winter. A normal operating season stretches from mid-May to October but is sometimes be shorter or longer because of weather conditions.

Etymology Trollstigen means the troll path or troll trail, from the Norwegian stig (also spelled sti), from Old Norse stigr.

History

Trollstigen was opened on 31 July 1936 by King Haakon VII after eight years of construction.

A major tourist facility including a restaurant was completed in 2012. Several viewing platforms have been constructed and older constructions improved upon. Trollstigen (along with County Road 63) was officially opened as a national tourist route by the Minister of Transport and Communications on 16 June 2012.NRK (national broadcasting news) Trollstigen itself (and the alpine summits to the west) lies within the Trollstigen landscape protection area,"Landskapsvernområde" is the lowest level legal protection of landscape http://www.lovdata.no/for/lf/mv/mv-20061124-1305.html while the alpine area east of Trollstigen, including the Trolltindene range, is part of Reinheimen National Park.

In the summer of 2005, the road was repaired, and about 16 million Norwegian kroner was spent to protect from rockfalls and make driving on the road safer.

In June 2021, Telia Norge commissioned an eco-friendly mobile base station powered entirely by solar, wind and hydrogen to provide mobile phone coverage at Trollstigen for the first time ever.

Opening and closing dates

Year Open Closed Comment 1994 20 May 27 SeptemberSunnmørsposten, 20 May 1995199525 MaySunnmøringen 24 May 1995 199624 May19976 June24 SeptemberNTB 15 October 1998199815 May15 Octoberclosed because of snow199914 May10 SeptemberAftenposten, 11 September 1999, page 17.temporarily closed 9 August because of landslide, early winter closing because of construction work.200026 MayTrollstigen åpner fredag. Adresseavisen, 25 May 2000, page 4.20 Augustclosed early because of construction workBergens Tidende, Monument i Trollstigen, 13 August 2000, page 3200121 May21 Augustclosed early because of construction workUbåtnett sikrer turistene. VG, 30 Juni 2011, p. 47200223 May16 SeptemberEarly closing because of maintenance work.Trollstigen stenges. Adresseavisen, 30 August 2002, p. 2.200328 May15 Augustclosed early because of landslide and floodingAdresseavisen, 21.august 2003VG, 15. august 2003200429 May20051 June15 Novemberlatest closing since 199220063 May200723 May17 OctoberRomsdals Budstikke, 3.11.2007200827 May4 NovemberÅndalsnes Avis, 17. november 2011, s.4.200920 May23 OctoberAftenposten 24.oktober 2009, ikke oppgitt at den ble åpnet igjen den sesongen.closed because of avalanche201028 May4 NovemberÅndalsnes Avis, 17 November 2011, page 4.201113 MayÅndalsnes Avis, 14. mai 2011, s. 5.24 NovemberÅndalsnes Avis, 26 November 2011, s. 10 ("stengt inntil videre" - "closed until further notice").20121 June5 NovemberAdresseavisen, 10 November 2012.201322 MayRomsdals Budstikke på nett accessed 24 May 2013.13 NovemberÅndalsnes Avis, Stengt for i år, 14 November 2013.20148 MayÅndalsnes Avis Rekordtidleg opning, 6 May 2014, read 5 May 2018.1 DecemberTrafikkmeldinger, Statens vegvesen, read 3 December 2014.http://www.vegvesen.no/ Trafikkmeldinger, read 13 December 2014, closed no later than 8 December 8 Decembertemporarily closed 23 November201513 MayTrollstigen åpner for sesongen, 13 May 201524 November"Nå er det vinterstengt" Åndalsnes avis, 28 November 2015, page 3. 23 November201625 May3 NovemberClosed because of snow201724 May13 November 8 November201811 May26 October, open again 16 Novemberclosed for the winter 26 October, open again 16 November because of warm weather Closed 2 December because of storm.201916 May30 October202417 Junerockfall202511 July 15 Augustroadworks2026+20271 June15 Augustroadworks

Gallery

See also List of highest paved roads in Europe List of mountain passes List of waterfalls Stelvio Pass Transfăgărășan

References

External links

See 360° VR panorama of Trollstigen here t Google Earth view