Vøringsfossen

Nobody much outside the valley knew this waterfall until 1821, when Professor Christopher Hansteen, on his way up to Hardangervidda to make astronomical observations, threw stones over the edge and timed them with his pocket watch. He made it 280 metres. A string measurement in 1893 gave the true figure, a major drop of 163 metres, 182 in total. Ola Garen built a hotel at the top in 1880, reached by a bridle path and 1,500 stairs up Måbøbjerget; the Art Nouveau Fossli Hotel followed in 1891, every plank carried up by packhorse. Edvard Grieg kept a cabin nearby and came often.