click to enlarge
The mining town of Røros, which I visited in 2006, was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1980.In 1644 copper was found in the Røros
mountains and in the following year the first furnace was built near a waterfall in the Hitterelva (=Hitter river). Workers flooded to Røros from near and far, to work in the copper foundry.
The town has retained much of its original character with houses and farms from the 18th and 19th centuries. The street pattern and farming properties in the centre of the town are the same as was originally constructed in the 1600's.Røros has not burnt since 1678 when the Swedes set fire to the place.
For over 250 years Røros was among Norway's most important mining towns. Between 1644 and 1977 over 100,000 tons of copper and 525'000 tons of sulphor pyrite were produced here.Enormous waste heaps provide evidence of these mining activities.
2 comments:
Your last sentence about the waste heaps makes me wonder what kind of an imprint are we leaving on this earth in our struggle to become technologically advanced. Does any run-off from rain affect the water supply for instance or damage neighboring soil etc. Are there toxic wastes that damage wildlife too? So many questions where mining operations are involved.
I remember that the waste heaps in Wales Gr.Br. caused a lot of problems, and the waste heaps of the uranium mines in Australia and the USA were even more dangerous for the people living in the neighbourhood.Our welfare isn't really well-being.
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