Every design for Rjukan

Rjukan is best known for heavy water and sabotage. During the Second World War the local Vemork hydroelectric plant, once the largest in the world, became the target of the Allied raids that gave the town its place in history. Rjukan itself was built from scratch by Norsk Hydro, one of the first towns in Norway drawn by architects, and the Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2015.

The town lies in the Vestfjorddalen valley between the lakes Møsvatn and Tinnsjå, with the river Måna running through it and the Rjukan Falls to the west, which gave the place its name. Gaustatoppen stands directly to the south, so tall that the sun never reaches the streets between September and March. Sam Eyde monument on the town square honours the industrialist counted as the town's founder, and Tveitoparken and Gunnar Sønstebys park lie in the centre.

On a winter day, look up from the square: high on the northern mountainside, the mirrors of Solspeilet send a single patch of light down onto the town below.