Notodden (town)
is a town in Notodden Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is also the administrative centre of the municipality. The town is located at the north end of the lake Heddalsvatnet, at the mouth of the river Tinnelva. The villages of Heddal and Yli lie about to the west of the town. The villages of Hjuksebø and Hjuksevelta both lie about to the south of the town. The town of Kongsberg is located about to the east of the town. The village of Bolkesjø is located about to the north of the town.
The town has a population of 9,041 and a population density of.
The Notodden Church is located in the town centre. The European route E134 highway passes through the town from east to west.
The town's old industrial base is located near the lake shore. This is where Norsk Hydro's facilities were built.
History
The village of Notodden was established as a kjøpstad on 1 January 1913. This essentially granted town status and special economic rights for the growing urban area. Under the law, this meant that the village was removed from Heddal Municipality and the new town was given self-governing authority, essentially making it a municipality of its own. Initially, the new town had a population of 4,821 people.During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town was merged with the following areas to create the new Notodden Municipality:
- most of the municipality of Gransherad - except for the upper Jondalen valley which became part of Kongsberg Municipality
- the Rudsgrendi area of Hovin Municipality
- the entire municipality of Heddal