Elverum
Municipality · Innlandet
About Elverum
The Norwegian Forest Museum by the Glomma, and the town where parliament's 1940 Elverum Authorisation let free Norway fight on from exile.
What to do and where to stay in Elverum
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1Norsk skogmuseum (Norwegian Forest Museum)History & culture
The national museum of forestry, hunting and inland fishing, with one of Norway's largest freshwater aquariums and Prestøya, a Glomma island of cabins and fishing huts.
Solørvegen 151, east bank of the Glomma, Elverum · 2–3 h · all-year (outdoor areas best May–September)
2GlomdalsmuseetHistory & culture
One of Norway's largest open-air museums, with nearly 100 buildings from Østerdalen and Solør, linked by footbridges over the Glomma falls to the Forest Museum.
Museumsvegen 15, Vestad (west bank), Elverum · 1.5–3 h · all-year, 10–16 daily; open-air area ticketed 15 May–15 Sept
3Midtskogen battle memorialHistory & culture
Here, in the dark of 9–10 April 1940, guardsmen and local volunteers halted German paratroopers out to capture King Haakon; their commander died of his wounds.
Midtskogen farm, Hamarvegen, about 5 km west of Elverum · 15–30 min · all-year
4Christiansfjell fortress parkHistory & culture
Ruins of a 1680s border fortress, renamed by King Christian V on his 1685 visit and closed in 1742, now a hilltop park above Leiret; the town grew up below it.
Hill on the east side of the Glomma, Leiret, Elverum · 30–45 min · all-year
5Footbridges over Klokkerfoss and PrestfossenViewpoint
A free walk between the two museums: a footbridge crosses the Klokkerfoss falls to the island of Prestøya, and a second bridge crosses the Prestfossen falls.
Between Norsk skogmuseum and Glomdalsmuseet, Elverum · 20–30 min · all year
6Leiret and the April 1940 storyHistory & culture
Parliament met here on 9 April 1940 to pass the Elverum Authorisation; on 11 April German bombs destroyed most of Leiret and killed 41, and it was rebuilt in post-war style.
Leiret town centre, east bank of the Glomma · 45–60 min walk · all-year
7Flotsberget fire lookout and cabinHike
A short marked climb to an 1898 day cabin, always unlocked, and a 1904 fire lookout tower where watchmen lived each summer until 1972.
Flotsberget, southeast Elverum; start at Flotta · 1.5–2 h (about 2 km each way, 180–200 m climb) · June–October (summer trail; not a ski route)
8Elverum kirkeHistory & culture
A cross-shaped timber church from 1736 with 700 seats, one of Norway's largest wooden churches, its 1700s interior restored in 1937–38.
Leiret, Elverum · 20–30 min · all-year (interior at services or open-church days)
9LøkenstrandaSwim
A sandy beach on the Glomma that the regional tourist board calls one of the best-known and most visited swimming places in the area.
On the Glomma, Elverum · 1–2 h · June–August
10SagtjernetSwim
A glacial lake on the edge of town with a sandy beach, diving tower and campfire spots, and skating and ice fishing in winter.
Sandodden, north Elverum · 1–2 h · summer for swimming; winter for skating