Vemork power station outside Rjukan was the setting for one of the best-known sabotage operations of the Second World War. Today the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum presents the history at the site.
Heavy water and wartime research
Vemork power station began operating in 1911 to supply electricity for Norsk Hydro’s fertiliser production. The separate hydrogen plant was completed in 1929, and industrial-scale heavy-water production began there in 1934. After Germany occupied Norway in 1940, the Allies became determined to stop production because of its potential role in German nuclear research. Check the official Vemork visitor page for current opening information.
Operations Grouse, Freshman and Gunnerside
Four Norwegian agents parachuted onto Hardangervidda in October 1942 as Operation Grouse. The British Operation Freshman failed tragically the following month. A smaller Norwegian-led team then entered the guarded plant during Operation Gunnerside on 28 February 1943 and destroyed the electrolysis equipment without casualties.
The final actions
Production partly resumed, and American aircraft bombed the plant in November 1943. When the remaining heavy water was to be moved to Germany, resistance fighter Knut Haukelid sank the railway ferry DF Hydro on Lake Tinn on 20 February 1944.
Visiting Vemork today
The original production building was demolished in 1977, but the cellar used during the sabotage was rediscovered in 2017 and is now part of the museum experience.
- Location: Vemork, about 20 minutes from central Rjukan
- From Ulefoss: around 2 hours by car via Notodden
- Combine with: Krossobanen and the wider Rjukan–Notodden World Heritage Site
Stay nearby
Make Telemark Guesthouse your base
Turn your visit into a relaxing stay at our historic farmhouse in Ulefoss.
Travel time from Telemark Guesthouse: About 2 hours by car.