Full history
Ancient history
The first traces of human activity in the Sunndal valley are from reindeer hunters dating back almost 11,000 years. The reindeer hunting in the mountains, rich salmon fishing in the river and a relatively warm climate drew farmers to settle in the district not far from Elverhøi about 4,000 years ago. The Sunndal valley connects the fjord, and thus the coast, with the inland areas of middle Norway with the result that the first settlements became natural meeting points for traders from the coast with their foreign imports and fish, and traders from the inland with iron, soap stone, fur and reindeer products. Though the fjord moved further down the valley due to the land rising in the last ice age (a process still going on), the area at Leikvin (the old Norse name for Løken the farm where Elverhøi is located) continued to be the centre of the valley.
Due to its history and geography the Leikvin area became an important religious, economic and secular centre for the surrounding areas during the Iron Age (500 BC – 1066 AD). Compared to the rest of Nordmøre, Sunndal has well over half of all finds from the iron age. Most traces are invisible today beneath the farm lands, but finds from recent archaeological excavations have revealed several buildings, graves and Norway’s largest gathering of cooking pits. The burial field close to Elverhøi is one of the the largest gatherings of graves from the Iron Agein the country with as many as 500 burial mounds and cairns. A path leads visitors through the burial field and there are interesting explanatory displays in Norwegian, English and German at intervals along the path.
A fascinating display of the local ancient and recent history is available in the Leikvin Museum just opposite the entrance to Elverhøi’s drive.
Recent history
After the plague in the middle ages the gravitational centre of the valley seems to have moved down to the fjord where people from the inland areas and the coast continued to meet for annual markets up to the 18th century. Around 1850 the local region was discovered by a group of adventurous British aristocrats searching for new and exciting rivers in which to fish for salmon. This led to an opening up of the Sunndal and neighbouring valleys, the construction of summer fishing guesthouses which created seasonal jobs looking after the wealthy new visitors. Elverhøi was constructed in 1868 by an enterprising Scottish woman named Barbara Arbuthnott, a friend of Queen Victoria and the wife of one of these early explorers. She used her considerable wealth to introduce a wide range of innovations to the valley and became a prolific philanthropist and supporter of local industry and culture. In 1892 the Scottish bank which was the source of her wealth collapsed and she was forced to sell up with the house being acquired by another British fisherman called Ernest Pretyman. In 1919 it was passed to his brother-in-law, The Hon Harry Bridgeman and it has remained in the family ever since.
Around 1900 the high mountainous terrain attracted the attention of hydroelectric power entrepreneurs and in 1913, with the backing of British investors, a major construction project saw an influx of workers, engineers, traders and craftsmen which turned the local community upside down. The old village by the fjord was bought by the power plant, the inhabitants were resettled further up the valley and street plans were drawn up for a small city where once only farms and fields existed. The onset of WW1 in 1914 led to financial difficulties for the project and little progress was made until 1940 when the German occupation filled the lower part of Sunndal Valley with activity once more. After bombing and burning parts of the old town, large plans were set in motion to finish the power plant and start aluminium production here. The lower part of the Valley was heavily fortified and at times there were more German soldiers here than local inhabitants.
After the war the Norwegian government encouraged the completion of the aluminium plant and the last of the old town was demolished in 1952 to be replaced by large factory buildings with the smelter finally opening in 1953. This new industry led to a rapid expansion of the town and it has continued to thrive following a further expansion in 2000 and is now the largest and most modern aluminium plant in Northern Europe. In recent years the region has been opened up to a wide range of newer outdoor activities including hiking, hunting, mountain biking, cross country skiing and archaeological exploration to name just a few.
