Kongsvold fjellstue

This is the only mountain lodge on Dovrefjell that is owned by the state today. It has served travelers continuously ever since the end of the 1600s.

Shortly before Christmas in 1718, all the mountain lodges on Dovrefjell were burned down to stop a Swedish military unit led by Lieutenant General Carl Gustaf Armfeldt, which had advanced into Trøndelag and moved south towards Oppdal. When the Swedes discovered that the mountain lodges had been burned and that Dovrefjell offered no shelter, they turned back south of Drivstua. This was followed by their tragic return across the Tydal mountains. The damage assessment after the burning shows that even then there were many buildings at Kongsvold—25 in total. Among them was a large horse stable consisting of three log sections.

Ever since the first professionally trained botanist arrived at Kongsvold in 1756, the mountain lodge has attracted plant enthusiasts from Norway and abroad. So many plants were collected here that the authorities intervened and protected the plant life in 1911. This was the first conservation measure in the area that in 1974 was designated Dovrefjell National Park. Today, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim operates the Kongsvoll Biological Station, which among other things is responsible for the mountain garden surrounding us here. The garden was established by the botanist Thekla R. Resvoll in 1923. It was originally located by the railway station, but was moved here in 1990. Conditions here are better suited to providing the various plant communities with the right environment.

In addition, Kongsvold mountain lodge operates as a traditional mountain inn, with a roadside café in a heritage-inspired atmosphere and an exhibition of many antiques from Kongsvold’s history. In the café there is also an information section presenting nature and culture, fauna and flora of Dovrefjell National Park and the Drivdalen, Kongsvoll, and Hjerkinn landscape protection areas.