Country Norway District Aust-Telemark Area rank 28 in Norway Area 2,045 km² Local time Saturday 5:04 PM | County Telemark Administrative centre Rjukan Demonym(s) Tinndøl Population 6,247 (2006) Official language form Norwegian Language | |
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Weather 3°C, Wind W at 23 km/h, 72% Humidity Points of interest Gaustatoppen, Norwegian Industrial Workers, Rjukan Falls, Gaustablikk, Hardangervidda National Park | ||
Tinn is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Rjukan.
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Map of Tinn, Norway
The parish of Tin(d) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Hovin was separated from the municipality of Tinn in 1860, but it was merged back into the municipality of Tinn on 1 January 1964.
Krossobanen is the oldest aerial tramway in Northern Europe. It was built in 1928 as a gift from Norsk Hydro. There is a museum and Hardangervidda National Park center at the lake Møsvatn close to Tinn.
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was Tinnr. It is probably the old name of the Lake Tinn, the central lake in the municipality. The meaning of the name is unknown.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 18 November 1994. The arms show five blue drops of water on a silver background. It was chosen to represent the five rivers in the municipality and the hydropower of Rjukan. It was designed by Halvor Holtskog.
History
Rjukan Falls on the Måna river allowed construction of Vemork, the largest power station in the world in 1911. The station has become a museum where one can explore the history of the energy and see exhibits about the industrial development in Norway and at Rjukan, the municipality center of Tinn.
The museum is most famous for its presentation of Rjukan's war history. During World War II, Vemork was the site of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage, when Norwegian saboteurs prevented the Germans from producing nuclear weapons from the heavy water which was produced here. The exhibit Atomkappløpet ("The nuclear race") presents the four heavy water sabotages and the allied efforts to develop a nuclear bomb.
Geography
The municipality borders the municipality of Nore og Uvdal (in Buskerud county) to the north, Rollag and Flesberg (also in Buskerud) to the east, Notodden, Hjartdal, and Seljord to the south, and Vinje to the west.
Tinn stretches deeply into the Hardangervidda landscape. One landmark in Tinn is the 1,883 metres (6,178 ft) tall mountain Gaustatoppen, which is climbed by 30,000 people each year. On clear days it is possible to see one sixth of Norway from its summit.