Shady Norwegian valley town Rjukan lit up for the first time by mirrors in the mountains

 

Charlotte McDonald-Gibson
Friday 12 July 2013 19:19 BST
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Up until this year, residents of the small Norwegian industrial town of Rjukan who wanted to catch a few rays between September and March would have to catch a gondola first. Nestled deep in a valley, no sunlight reaches the streets during the long winter.

But from this winter, people will just have to stroll to the main square after a decades-long dream to beam sunlight from mirrors placed in the mountains is finally realised. Helicopters have been winching the mirrors into place, and the project coordinator, Øystein Hagan, told Norwegian media this week that he hopes it will be complete by end of July.

The giant mirrors will sit on a platform on a nearby mountain, with sensors responding throughout the day to automatically adjust the mirrors to the best angle to catch the rays and point them at the square.

“The square will become a sunny meeting place in a town otherwise in shadow,” the Rjukan tourist website boasts.

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