About Tafjord

Written by Astor Furseth, Translated by Anne Marie Mac Queen Moe

 

Tafjord

Tafjord is the village that lies furthest to the east in Sunnmøre. From the centre of the village is a valley that goes towards the east. The powerful and mighty Storfjellet divides this valley into two, Rødal and Kaldhusdal, where previously many farms lay. The residence og Tafjord is very old. The mountain area is rich with traces of an old hunting culture. As far back as history goes, we have the impression that this was a living society with about 200 people living here permanently, nowadays the population is down to around 100.

Oldest in Norway?

Up in the mountains there is a hunting-trap construction for the animals, between Kallskaret and Herdalsvatnet. Here is where the hunters in the olden days could steer the reindeer over the mountains. The hunters built a 300 metre long fence that ended on the edge of a precipice. It is a unique piece of work, and must be very old, as it is difficult to explain in any other way that that the valley, at that time was partly filled with ice. It has been indicated that the age was around 13 thousand years old or older. Other discoveries have pointed in the same direction.

Fundergata

The oldest part of the street, Fundergata, has a unique village structure. There are quite a few buildings known as church sheds. In the olden days these little sheds were used by the people who lived up in the valleys in the mountains, to change into their church clothes and eat their lunches before rowing the long way over to Dale church. The name of the street derives from the time when commercial trade was used, among other things the firm, Christian Funder in Copenhagen that sent Cognac in oak barrels. Planks with the firm name were thrown on the ground and usually just lay there, that is the reason why the name of the streeet is Fundergata.

The end of isolation

Before the road and tunnels came in 1982, the village of Tafjord was quite isolated, especially in the winter when the fjord was covered with ice, and it usually went all the way out to Sylte in Valldal. But the village was discovered by the rest of the world long
before the road came. In the 1800's hiking in the mountain became a very popular hobby, and the Tafjord mountains an eldorado for the hikers. The Ålesund and Sunnmøre Tourist Assosiation ws established in 1889, and has been a great help and "opened" up Tafjord mountains for people who were fond of outdoor life. They used the big red "T" to show where the paths for hiking were, and they built wood cabins for people to spend the night in. The Tafjord mountains are included in the national project for a planned area call Reinheimen National Park and Scenic protected area.

Let there be light!

Two expreiences in the 1900's have left a strong impression on the village. The first was the construction sites. Rivers, waterfalls and all the wataer around Tafjord mountains gave basis for the electricity production. Twelve rural districts collaborated and used this to their advantage in 1917, and established the Tafjord Power Company (Tafjord Kraftselskap). Through the years there have been several expansions. A lot of the constructions is invisible as it is in the mountains. The most visible and massive building is the Zakarias Dam wich is 96 metres high and is one of Europe's highest concrete dams. The total annual production is over 1 billion kWh and this give power to businesses and homes in an area with the population of 75 thousand. The power station has now 25 working places in Tafjord, and has a large economic significance for Norddal rural district.

The Tafjord catastrophe

The next big experience happened in 1934. Tafjord is known for one of Norway's largest nature catastrophes. A crevice in the Langhammer mountain on the north side of the fjord, grew larger all the time. On the night of 7th of April 1934, a piece of the Langhammer mountain collapsed out into the fjord. It fell from a height og 730 metres, taking Heggurda and 3 million m3 og mountain with it. It hit the fjord and became a sort of tidalwave with waves up to 64 metres high. Three times the wave hit the shores, 23 people lost their life in Tafjord and 17 in Fjørå. There was an enormous amount og destruction, all the houses, roads, bridges, boats, and the quay were washed away. The tidal waves were up to 200 metres inland in some places and the effects were also felt 10 miles away. There is hardly any traces of the accident nowadays, but it left its marks on the people of Tafjord. The horror of this catastrophic night still lies within their memory, even today. By the quay and Haugsteinen (were 6 people saved their lives) there is a monument which honours the ones who passed away.

Outdoor activities

In the summertime the village can be quite buzy and hectic. With the marina, campingplaces and especially the outdoor swimming pool, a lot of people find their way to Tafjord. The pool is heated and it is 25 metres long, plus a paddling-pool for the youngest of the family.

Botanic

(The names of the plants will here be written in norwegian. We are sorry that we haven't been able to find the english names)

In Reindalen there is a place called Daurmålshaugane, some of the specialists have said it is one og the largest botanical treasures in Norway. Here you can find plants that is unique, such as: Reinrose, Blåmjelt, Rabbestar and Flekkmure and also some mountain plants. In Muldalsvika you find an unusual forest of trees called "Edellauvskogen" which is probably one of the most valuable
protection forests in the county. Another lant that is quite seldom is the "Lerkespor" that grows in Tafjord, this is also one of the reasons that Tafjord is one of the two places in Norway where you can observe the threatened butterfly "Mnemosyne".

The museum

Tafjord Power Company has changed its first power station into a power station museum, which is now open for the public during the summer months. Thousands are in for a visit to the old station each year. High up in the mountains is another construction site museum, in Veltdalen. In 1925, there was a camp in Veltdalen with living quarters, a blacksmith, and a dynamite depot. You will also find the Fieldfare Cabin that was used by the men of the Linge Company, when they were on their saboteur missions during World War II.

Gjerdeløa

Marianne Heske is one of the most well-known artist in Norway and lived in Tafjord for quite a long time, and she still keeps contact with the village. A lot of her art bears the stamp of the mountains and landslide events that have happened in Tafjord. She is well known for moving the "Gjerdeløa" in Rødal to the Pompadour Centre in Paris, and returning the little outhouse to its original place again. She has also moved a 16 ton boulder of olivine from the Onilsa Lake to Venice in Italy.