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Things to do in Røros

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Røros

A copper mining town on a high plateau near the Swedish border, worked from 1644 to 1977 and left standing in timber because nothing ever came to replace it. It is on the World Heritage list and it is one of the coldest inhabited places in the country, which is worth knowing before booking in January.

6 places on record
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Things to do

6
  1. Bergstaden

    Old Town · 2 hr

    Around eighty timber buildings on the original street plan of the 1640s mining town, still lived in and worked in, with the slag heaps rising at the top of the main street. It went on the World Heritage list in 1980 and the reason it survived is that it was too poor to rebuild.

  2. Doktortjønna

    Park · 1 hr

    A small lake and activity park a short walk from the centre, with rowing boats, fishing and paths through the woods. It is the family option when the mine and the museum are done. Skis and skates replace the boats once the lake freezes, and the paths stay open all winter.

  3. Olavsgruva

    Mine Tour · 2 hr

    A copper mine at Storwartz east of the town, entered on a guided walk 50 metres down into the rock where the temperature holds around five degrees all year. Take a coat and sensible shoes; the tour runs whatever the weather is doing outside.

  4. Røros kirke

    Church · 30 min

    The mining town's church of 1784, one of the largest in the country with room for around 1,600, paid for by the copper works whose directors sat in a private box. The stone tower stands over the whole town and is the fixed point in every view of it.

  5. Rørosmuseet Smelthytta

    Museum · 1.5 hr

    The reconstructed smelting house on the river, holding working water wheel models of the whole ore process at a scale a visitor can follow. It explains the town better than the street does, and it is the place to start. Demonstrations run through the main season.

  6. Vertshuset Røros

    Hotel

    A guest house of 1740 in the middle of the old town, with rooms in the historic building and apartments in the yard behind. The kitchen works with what the mountain farms around the town produce. It sits within a few minutes of the church and the smelting house.

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