Town Has No Sun For 5 Months, Spends 5 Million Norwegian Kroner To Place Mirrors In The Mountains That Mimic Sunlight
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Sunlight is a crucial aspect when it comes to our health, good mood, and overall well-being. Cities across the world that lack direct sunlight throughout the year have many inhabitants that are in desperate need of vitamin D which is vital for our health. Besides that, living in constant darkness just seems so melancholic. Because of this, most people strive to live in countries where it is always warm but there are still many people across the globe that get used to not seeing direct sunlight for months. It does not mean they don’t need it, they just get used to patiently waiting for a brighter tomorrow.
Rjukan, a town located 3 hours north-west of Oslo, Norway, is known as one of the darkest cities on earth
Image credits: Rowie
There are around 3,386 inhabitants in Rjukan, a town that got its name from the Rjukan Falls -a 104-meter waterfall that provides easy access to generating large quantities of electricity.
The town has no direct sunlight from September to March because of the mountains surrounding it
Image credits: VisitNorway
In fact, it is almost always bright in Rjukan except for December and January but this applies to almost the entire Norway because of the midnight sun. What is different about Rjukan is the fact that the mountains surrounding the town do not provide any direct sunlight, making the town rather flat and mono.
In order to give the locals at least a bit of sun, the town has provided 5 million Norwegian Kroner to install mirrors
Image credits: VisitNorway
These solar-powered mirrors that are placed 450-meters above the town track the movement of the sun across the town
Image credits: Tripadvisor
As a result – the sunlight shines down on the town square
Image credits: Vibeke B
In an interview, one of the locals said that people of Rjukan do get used to living without the sunlight. “You end up not thinking about it, really. But this … This is so warming. Not just physically, but mentally. It’s mentally warming.”
This idea did receive some criticism calling the project a gimmick and a waste of a lot of money for only a little slice of sun.
Image credits: VisitNorway
But many critics did come around as they noticed that this idea not only provided some much-needed sun for the locals but it also helped to put the town on the map since this idea did manage to attract more tourists to the town.
Image credits: VisitNorway
The idea of the sun mirror was first brought up by the founder of the town, Mr. Sam Eyde, back in 1913. He understood the importance of the sun and tried to create a sun mirror but unfortunately, he did not succeed. According to Norway’s tourism site, “The idea was taken up again in 2005 by Martin Andersen, an artist and resident of the town. In 2013, the mirror was officially installed – 100 years after the idea. “
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This is quite interesting, but "One Of The Darkest Towns On Earth" is much of an exaggeration. The town is rather west of Oslo, and Norway is a very, very long country. Compare this for example to Tromsø, which is by not in the furthest North of Norway. The polar night there is already two months long, i.e. there is no sun, not even behind the mountains. And if you move to Spitzbergen, you will have a period of almost four months without sun (in Longyearbyen).
Well. Having polar nights for two months means exactly that, no sun for two months. This town has no sun for five months, and because it comes around so low because of the latitude, the two darkest can probably be somewhat compared to those polar nights. Also Tromso compensates dark winter days with long summer days! So towns like this really deserve that notion, let them have this moment to shine!
I live 45 minutes from Rjukan, and even winters here are bright. Rjukan might not get direct sunlight but the sky is bright blue. In the winter in Longyearbyen the days are as dark as the nights. Imagine living in a town only illuminated by street lights for four months straight. There's a big difference between sunlight and daylight.
Eirik Then by all means, take it away from poor Rjukan. All they wanted was to show off their mirror... And on a more serious note; why people live there (either Rjukan or Longyearbyen) is something I find hard to grasp; I find a normal winter, with actual direct sunlight and daylight at around 52 degrees latitude with no mountains in sight about as much as I can handle :) Thank you for your explanation by the way!
Nicely countered...
I live in Norway and our valley pretty much half the valley loose the sun in the end of october and gets it back in the middle of Februrary thanks to the mountains. Our only exit is out the fjord or the two tunnels which have been blocked before by rock and mud slides. We have threats of a huge rock out the fjord that can creating a massive wave and a mountain side that can fall and create a 2-3 time more wave which can cover much of the valley so rip me if I am at work and not up in the mountain side.
Goodness!
It has happened before elsewhere in the world so it can happen there, too. Good luck.
" It’s mentally warming" I love that.
This is quite interesting, but "One Of The Darkest Towns On Earth" is much of an exaggeration. The town is rather west of Oslo, and Norway is a very, very long country. Compare this for example to Tromsø, which is by not in the furthest North of Norway. The polar night there is already two months long, i.e. there is no sun, not even behind the mountains. And if you move to Spitzbergen, you will have a period of almost four months without sun (in Longyearbyen).
Well. Having polar nights for two months means exactly that, no sun for two months. This town has no sun for five months, and because it comes around so low because of the latitude, the two darkest can probably be somewhat compared to those polar nights. Also Tromso compensates dark winter days with long summer days! So towns like this really deserve that notion, let them have this moment to shine!
I live 45 minutes from Rjukan, and even winters here are bright. Rjukan might not get direct sunlight but the sky is bright blue. In the winter in Longyearbyen the days are as dark as the nights. Imagine living in a town only illuminated by street lights for four months straight. There's a big difference between sunlight and daylight.
Eirik Then by all means, take it away from poor Rjukan. All they wanted was to show off their mirror... And on a more serious note; why people live there (either Rjukan or Longyearbyen) is something I find hard to grasp; I find a normal winter, with actual direct sunlight and daylight at around 52 degrees latitude with no mountains in sight about as much as I can handle :) Thank you for your explanation by the way!
Nicely countered...
I live in Norway and our valley pretty much half the valley loose the sun in the end of october and gets it back in the middle of Februrary thanks to the mountains. Our only exit is out the fjord or the two tunnels which have been blocked before by rock and mud slides. We have threats of a huge rock out the fjord that can creating a massive wave and a mountain side that can fall and create a 2-3 time more wave which can cover much of the valley so rip me if I am at work and not up in the mountain side.
Goodness!
It has happened before elsewhere in the world so it can happen there, too. Good luck.
" It’s mentally warming" I love that.