At Vøringfossen waterfall on Hardangervidda in Norway, a new eye-catching step bridge offers visitors panoramic views of rushing water cascades, amazing hazy mountains and a plunging deep valley underneath. Read more about the new spectacular Vøringfossen step bridge in Norway.
Last week, architect Carl-Viggo Hølmebakk with the Norwegian Public Road Administration (NPRA) opened the monumental step bridge above Vøringfossen waterfall in the largest national park in the Nordic region, Hardangervidda. The new attraction serves to continue a long tradition of exploring the interface between architecture, technology, infrastructure and nature.
Related: The Stunning Norwegian West Coast
A new way to see and perceive the landscape space
“Many factors have had an impact on the design of the bridge. While the structure must be safe and robust, the bridge must reflect the language of the pre-existing trail and the landscape. Emphasis has of course been placed on the view and the experience it will provide,” said Hølmebakk and continued, “The bridge creates a new way to see and perceive the landscape space.”
Related: The Most Famous Waterfall in Norway
Vøringfossen step bridge has a span of 47 meters (over 150 feet) and 99 steps. The difference in height between each end of the bridge is 16 meters (over 50 feet). While the seven components of the bridge have been hoisted in place by a crane and assembled on site, the entire step bridge is built in steel and secured with solid rock bolts drilled into the rock.
A ’groundbreaking’ project
“This project is groundbreaking,” said project manager Kjersti Wold. The project has been over a decade in the making and today, visitors willing to traverse the 99 steps connecting the two sides of the Måbødalen valley are offered an unparalleled view of the tumbling Vøringfossen waterfalls.
Related: Toilet With Norway’s Best View
Vøringfossen step bridge is the second construction stage in the NPRA’s development of the scenic route attraction of Vøringfossen. The first stage was completed in 2018 and includes views, footpaths, safety barriers, parking and a service building below the Fossli hotel.
New Spectacular Step Bridge in Norway
The 154ft-long (47m) construction is something of an architectural marvel and likely to become an attraction in its own right.
Feature image (on top): © Photo: Harald Chr. Eiken / www.vmproduksjon.no
New Spectacular Step Bridge in Norway, written by Tor Kjolberg