Røros - Norway

This colorful charming timber town was founded in 1646 and has since developed as both a mining and agricultural community. Included on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites as early as 1980. The town centre boasts a rare collection of large and well-preserved wooden buildings, made all the more real and authentic by the fact that the people of today live and work in them. - in: https://www.visitnorway.com

 

The 1st of these cards was sent in 2011 by Rita and the 2nd last December by Eric, who worked in this village a few years ago. 

Røros Mining Town and the Circumference is linked to the copper mines, established in the 17th century and exploited for 333 years until 1977. The site comprises the Town and its industrial-rural cultural landscapes; Femundshytta, a smelter with its associated area; and the Winter Transport Route. Completely rebuilt after its destruction by Swedish troops in 1679, Røros contains about 2000 wooden one- and two-storey houses and a smelting house. Many of these buildings have preserved their blackened wooden façades, giving the town a medieval appearance. Surrounded by a buffer zone, coincident with the area of privileges (the Circumference) granted to the mining enterprise by the Danish-Norwegian Crown (1646), the property illustrates the establishment and flourishing of a lasting culture based on copper mining in a remote region with a harsh climate. - in: www.whc.unesco.org/en/list/55

 

 

Røros church - also called "The pride of the mining town" - was built in the golden age of the Røros Copper Company. The building was finished in 1784 and is one of the largest churches in Norway, with 1600 seats. 

The structure on the right side of the card is the Hyttklokka, a bell was used to notify workers at the smelthytta(smelter hut) when work started and finished. The bell was probably also used as an alarm, to warn of fires, for example. If you take a photo of Hyttklokka with the church in the background, you will have captured the classic Røros setting. - in: https://en.roros.no