Tinfos Paper factory

Can you hear the rushing river? The sound comes from the river Tinnelva. It is over 30 kilometers long and flows from the Tinnsjø lake to the Heddalsvatn lake. Right here, at Tinfos, we have the shortest waterfall in Tinnelva: The Tinnfoss waterfall! In the present day, the waterfall is part of a dam system, so it only releases water when the dam is good and full. But, in the past, this was considered a terrific waterfall! Tinnfoss was a nuisance for local forest owners, who constantly had their timber destroyed in the river’s churn. But the power of the waterfall has been utilized for many purposes. The waterfall has been a source for industrial activity for several hundred years, and many of the original buildings are still intact. First there was a grain mill and sawmill here, later a pulp mill, paper mill and power station. The brick building that today houses a museum is the old pulping hall of Tinfos paper factory. Here they produced wood fiber pulp that was resold for use in paper production. In the 1940s, the old pulping hall was converted into a sawmill when a new paper mill was constructed down by the lake. In 1972, the paper mill closed down, and in 1987 the sawmill also closed down, but the power of the waterfall is still used to produce electricity through two power stations.