Population: 12 313 - Notodden municipality; 6 010 - Tinn municipality

Region: Telemark County, East-Telemark region Both Notodden and Tinn are also cooperating in the Kongsberg region that are situated on the boarders of Telemark County and Buskerud County

Government of the region: Telemark County Council

The Norse form of the name was Þelamörk. The first element is the genitive plural case of þelir, the name of an old Germanic tribe. The last element is mörk f 'woodland, borderland'. Until 1919 the county was called Bratsberg amt. The “amt” was named after the farm Bratsberg since this was the seat of the amtmann ('governor').

Still many people living in Telemark consider Bratsberg not to be a part of Telemark. Notodden and Tinn belong to the Real Telemark. Telemark lent its name to Telemark skiing, a style invented by Sondre Norheim and the characteristic Telemark landing in ski-jumping. 

Telemark County is often described as ‘Norway in miniature’ with its glittering archipelagos and magnificent mountain plateaus. Telemark stretches from the Skagerrak coastline and further inland to the mountain plateaus of Hardangervidda – through wide open farming villages, narrow valleys, steep mountain sides, and countless lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Our part of Telemark County is far from the sea, however, the waterways coming from Hardangervidda in Tinn municipality. We can go with a boat from Notodden to Gdansk if we want to. And we have abundance of nature!

Notodden and Tinn municipalities constitute the cradle of industrialization in Norway, as the company Norsk Hydro was established here from 1905 and onwards. Thus this is in no way a historic region, apart from a tourist destination. In the midst of 1980 our industrial period was challenged, and we had to figure out what we might be as a post-industrial cities. Our industrial heritage is proposed for the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Our coats of arms show our history – water and electricity! The coat of arms for our county is relatively new and symbolizes our history as for fighting the National authorities. The say the people from Telemark were the last to be christened in Norway!

Worth to see:

• Notodden Blues Festival - Suwalki Blues Festival 
• Marispelet 
• The Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum

For economy see: Kommunefakta.