Notodden () is a town in Notodden Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is also the administrative centre of the municipality. The town is located at the north end of the lake Heddalsvatnet, at the mouth of the river Tinnelva. The villages of Heddal and Yli lie about to the west of the town. The villages of Hjuksebø and Hjuksevelta both lie about to the south of the town. The town of Kongsberg is located about to the east of the town. The village of Bolkesjø is located about to the north of the town.
The town has a population (2025) of and a population density of .
The Notodden Church is located in the town centre. The European route E134 highway passes through the town from east to west. The town's old industrial base is located near the lake shore. This is where Norsk Hydro's facilities were built.
History The village of Notodden was established as a kjøpstad on 1 January 1913. This granted town status and special economic rights for the growing urban area. Under Norwegian law, this meant that the new town was removed from Heddal Municipality and it was given self-governing authority as Notodden Municipality. Initially, the new town had a population of 4,821 people.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Notodden Municipality: all of Notodden Municipality (population: ) all of Heddal Municipality (population: ) most of Gransherad Municipality (population: ), except for the upper Jondalen valley which became part of Kongsberg Municipality in Buskerud county the Rudsgrendi area of Hovin Municipality (population: ) Before the merger, the town of Notodden made up all of Notodden Municipality, but after this merger, the municipality was greatly enlarged and since then the town has only made up a small part of the vast area of Notodden Municipality.
Government
In Norway, municipalities are the unit of local government. This means that cities and towns are simply designations for urban areas, but under current Norwegian law, they have no actual government authority. The town of Notodden lies within Notodden Municipality and is therefore governed by the municipal council of Notodden Municipality.
Gallery
Climate Notodden has a humid continental climate (Dfb). Situated inland at low altitude in the Telemark region, it is one of the warmest places in Norway in the summer, but winters are cold. The weather station at Notodden Airport has been recording since March 1970 (temperature and wind speed). Precipitation data is from a different station in Notodden. The all-time high temperature was recorded on 27 July 2018.
See also List of towns and cities in Norway
References