A Self-Guided Walk through Røros
When the husband and I went on our road-trip back in September 2020, this was one of the articles I knew I was going to write. Røros has always fascinated me; not just because it’s so picturesque but also due to its UNESCO World Heritage status as a historic mining town. I couldn’t find a good self-guided walking tour online, so I decided to make my own when I was there.
Before I start, I will say that there are a couple different options for doing a walk in Røros. Firstly, most of the buildings have QR codes on them that link to a summary of the location. Secondly, and most importantly, there are guided tours of Røros. I’d recommend hiring a guide (who lives there and knows the town inside and out) and seeing Røros that way. I’ve designed my guide more as an overview of what to expect in Røros. You can follow the path, of course, but the best info comes from a guide (after all, I do walking tours of Bergen!). This isn’t sponsored or anything; I just prefer guided tours.
Anyway, here’s my self-guided walking tour of Røros.
In this article...
The Fv30 Highway
You can reach Røros by taking the Fv30 from near Trondheim. You can find my guide to the Fv30 by clicking the link below.
Download this Guide
All of our guides can be downloaded via our online store.
I offer downloadable versions of my self-guided walks on my online store.
Online Guide
- Information about points of interest
- Images of each point of interest
- Historic overview of the neighbourhood
- Directions between points
- Historic photos
- Information about facilities along the way
Downloadable Guide
- Information about points of interest
- Images of each point of interest
- Historic overview of the region & towns
- Directions between points
- Historic photos
- Facilities including supermarkets, toilets, petrol, hotels, cafes, restaurants with addresses.
Røros Self-Guided Walking Tour
Start: Smeltehytta Museum
The Smeltahytta Museum is a great introduction to the mining and smelting history of Røros. Outside is a large carpark, so park the car and lets begin the walk!
The Sintering Shed
The land was originally used for storing deposits of gravel, but in the 1890s a small smeltery was constructed to smelt silica ore. In Norwegian, the word is ‘sintring’ – hence the name of the shed.
Røros Kobberverk experimented with smelting silica in order to improve production efforts.
Today the building is a storage shed.
You’ll see an information board to the left of the building with some info on the Røros UNESCO region.
Hytteklokka
Hytteklokka, or the Smelting Bell (in Norwegian klokk = bell. It can be confusing!) was the shift clock for workers in the smelter. Because the smelter had to be active 24.7, the workers worked in shifts. The bell was rung every time a shift was over and a new one began. The original bell tower was much taller; it was replaced in the 1890s.
Røros Church
How beautiful is this church? You can’t miss it; it’s visible from almost anywhere in town.
Røros Church was built between 1780 and 1784. It was funded by Røros Kobberverk and the cost of the church was the equivalent of 450 miners’ yearly salaries! It’s crazy to also know that the company’s turnover was enough to build 3-4 buildings at that cost per year.
To the locals, Røros Church is known as ‘Bergstadens Ziir’. Bergstaden is a name for a mining town, and Ziir means ‘pride’. So it translates to “the pride of the mining town”.
On the tower of the church you can see the logo for Røros Kobberverks; it’s one of few churches in Norway to display the logo of its main sponsor on the exterior.
If you ever manage to get lost in Røros (that alone is a feat!), you can always see the church.
Kjerkegata
Historically there are two main streets in Røros, and this is one of them. We’ll be on the other one soon.
Kjerkgata is traditionally a business street, and almost every property was a farm (gård or gaard), trading house, and home.
Trygstad Bakery
Every small town has a bakery, and Røros has many. Trygstad Bakery is one of the most historic.
The name is from Edvard Trygstad, who moved to Røros when he was 22 years old (1899). He worked at another bakery for a while, but in 1906 he started his own bakery. It quickly became known as having good quality, and in 1916 he bought the current building.
Today the bakery is owned by his descendants.
The bakery was featured in an episode of Alt for Norge, a competition series where Norwegian-Americans come to Norway to learn about their family.
Trygstad Bakery is one of the oldest businesses in Røros. We had lunch and then breakfast here, and I can confirm it is amazing – some of the best coffee I’ve ever had! It’s a very cramped and overcrowded bakery, but it’s part of the charm, right?
Bergmannsgata
Welcome to the second main street in Røros! The name ‘Bergmannsgata’ comes from the professional title of a miner: Bergmann. The current layout here is from the 17th century, shortly after the founding of Røros.
Many of the houses here have wide openings on the lower floor: this was for the animals. Behind the house would be a stable with farm animals; this was necessary to surviving in Røros. A typical house had 4-6 cows. Today there are no cows, but some houses still have horses.
Rasmusgården
This house is a great example of a miners home + working farm. It was likely built at the end of the 17th century; the house hasn’t changed since the early 1800s but the farmhouse out the back is likely the same as it was in the 1680s! Today this is regarded as one of the oldest farm buildings in Røros.
The property is named after Olaf Rasmus Vintervold, who was a miner.
A lot of animals have lived here. In a census from 1865 there was 1 horse, 5 cows and 6 sheep living here. In the title deed from 1748, the property had 1 ox, 3 cows, 1 calf, 4 goats, 3 chickens, 3 sheep and 2 lambs – all on this tiny property!
Rasmusgarden was also a travellers stables. When the horses arrived in winter, it was required that they would have a stable and the people would have a place to stay. Many houses doubled as these travellers stables (property for both horse and man).
Today the property is owned by the Norwegian Preservation for Ancient Monuments (Fortidsminneforeningen) and can be rented out if you want to spent the night there.
Finnegården
Finnegården is one of the only houses with an intact farm structure. Most of the outbuildings are preserved, to some extent, in their original character.
The interiors of this house are incredibly well preserved. The wallpaper is from the 1890s and is intended to mimic golden leather. It was likely produced in Belgium and very expensive.
Finnegården is where the wealthy Engzelius family lived. The term ‘storing’ is used about the upper class in Røros; they worked in a higher position at the mine and they also created their wealth on trade and other business activities. The Engzelius family was one of the most prominent ‘storing’ families in Røros. They weren’t just merchants but also worked in industry and banking.
In total, there are 60 rooms inside – huge for a building in Røros.
Today the building is under protection.
Pictures | Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3 | Excellent Interior Picture Gallery
Lion Pharmacy
Løve = Lion
apoteket = Pharmacy
The pharmacy was established in 1821 and supplied the entire Circumference (mining region).
The pharmacist didn’t just have drugs and medicines. They also sold prunes, raisins, candy sugar and self-made chocolate. For a while, they even sold liquor. Whenever the transport workers arrived in Røros, you can bet the first place they went was the pharmacy!
Today the pharmacy is located closed to the modern shopping area. The interior of this pharmacy is well preserved, with murals painted in 1936.
Why is it called a lion pharmacy? Are there lions in Røros? It’s actually very common in Germanic countries (Scandinavia, Germany, Austria) to name pharmacies after animals. Lions and swans are the most common names in Norway, while in Germany and Austria they have animals like rhinos, pelicans and stork.
Sleggveien
Welcome to perhaps one of the most photographed streets in Røros.
These houses are very different than the ones we just waked through. Most of the people who lived on this street were poor and didn’t own their own animals. Additionally, they very likely did not work in mining.
The people who lived in Sleggveien were craftsmen, cleaners, gypsies and others who had no permanent work at Røros Kobberverk. They had no land to farm. The women earned a living as domestic servants in wealthy homes, while the men were likely cobblers, clock and watch repairmen, or maybe musicians.
These days, some of the houses are open to the public in summer. You can find further info below.
NOTE – some of these homes are private residences. Please be respectful when walking through the street. I’ve outlined which houses are not lived in, but for the ones that are please don’t look through windows, mailboxes, etc. I know it seems like a common courtesy, but it is a growing problem.
Slag/slegg
We’ve made it to Mt. Slag! Well, that’s not it’s official name, but it does feel like a bit of a hike to get up here.
What is slag (slegg in Norwegian)? It is a mixture of oxides, silicates and other residues formed during the production and refining of metals. Basically, it’s waste from the smelting process.
These slag heaps are the result of 300 years of smelting ore at the smeltery.
Originally, slag was transported across the bridge via horse and cart. In 1889, a cable and bucket system was built over the river. The bridge (we’ll see it soon) is what is left of the slag transport system.
Røros Copperworks
This complex is where the Røros Kobberverk had their offices and workshops. The oldest buildings along the river are from before 1820. The other buildings are from after 1940.
From right to left:
- Blacksmith: This stone building is from the 1880s and is where the blacksmith was. The blacksmith’s job was to make and repair tools, equipment and utensils for all mining activities.
- Workshop: This is from 1800, with an additional floor coming a few decades later. The ground-floor was a carpenters workshop and the upper floor was used by bellows makers. The bellows makers assembled, maintained and repaired the air bellows that forced air into the furnaces into the smeltery. The building is still a carpentry workshop.
- Wheelwrights/Wheelmakers Workshop: This is also from between 1800 and 1820, and it is where wagon wheels and water wheels were made. These were very important for mining, and a wheelwright was regarded as one of the most skilled and qualified of artisans.
- Bellows Workshop: This is one of the oldest buildings in the complex. Built in the early 1800s, this is where the bellow makers constructed, repaired and maintained the bellows. Bellows are used in the smeltery to construct, repair and maintain the bellows that were used to force air into the furnaces. They were highly respected craftsmen.
- The Office Building: This is from between 1800 and 1820 and served as the office for company staff members. On the second floor is where the surveyor’s office was. His job was to survey the land and draw up plans, make models and maps that were about the ore deposits and mines. Today the building is used by the Røros Preservation Centre.
- Iron Shed: The iron shed is another early 19th century building. As the name suggests, rod iron was stored here and then utilised to make different types of machinery and equipment. The building is almost exactly the same as when it was built – the windows were added in the late 1800s.
- Work House: The last building in the lineup is the work house – it is where heavy carpentry work was done. Apart from necessary maintenance work, this building is unaltered from when it was built in 1820.
Slag Transportation System & Dam
When you stand on the bridge, you get an excellent outlook to the dam and the slag transportation system.
Røros Kobberverk erected the smeltery at the waterfall Hitterelva in 1646. The damn was constructed around the same time.
The water intake powered the vertical saw in the sawmill, which was located on the eastern (across from the museum) side of the river.
The sawmill was used for more than 200 years. When it was closed in 1920, they dismantled it. When the dam was being restored, the remains were found and a new building is built over them to protect them. If you look in the picture, it’s the light-coloured wooden building on the right. The water wheel is on display at the museum.
From here you are back at the museum. I hope you enjoyed the walk!
The Fv30 Highway
You can reach Røros by taking the Fv30 from near Trondheim. You can find my guide to the Fv30 by clicking the link below.
