Dalen Hotel
| Dalen Hotel | |
|---|---|
Dalen Hotel in 2008
|
|
| General information | |
| Type | Hotel |
| Architectural style | Dragestil |
| Location | Dalen, Telemark, Norway |
| Address | Hotellvegen 33 |
| Coordinates | 59°26′35″N 8°00′45″E / 59.44306°N 8.01250°ECoordinates: 59°26′35″N 8°00′45″E / 59.44306°N 8.01250°E |
| Opening | 1894 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 1⁄2 |
| Floor area | 4,500 m2 (48,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Haldor Larsen Børve |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 42 |
| Website | |
| http://www.dalenhotel.no/ | |
Dalen Hotel is a historic hotel located at Dalen in the municipality of Tokke in Telemark, Norway. The luxury Dalen Hotel, once a popular locale for European royalty, is one of the largest wooden buildings in Norway and one of the best preserved hotels of its size from the 1800s.
The hotel is located in eastern Dalen on the shores of Bandak lake. The hotel owners operate a ferry service along the Telemark Canal, which during the warmer seasons has daily trips between Skien and Dalen on the historic passenger ships MS Henrik Ibsen and MS Victoria. The hotel can also be accessed by road on Fylkesvei 38 and 45, which extends down from E134 to the north.
The idea for a hotel in Dalen came with the expansion of the Telemark Canal in 1892. Through a series of staircase locks, the canal from Skien to Norsjø was extended to reach Bandak, with the small town of Dalen as its new endpoint. The canal was referred to as the "eighth wonder" upon its completion, and the waterway saw heavy traffic from ferries bringing passengers from the east in Oslo and Grenland travelling towards destinations in central and western Norway.
The initiative to build a luxury hotel in Dalen was taken by Skien businessman Hans Larsen along with his two associates, merchants Lars Rød and Anton Hansen from Skien and Porsgrunn respectively. The men commissioned local Porsgrunn architect Haldor Larsen Børve to build the hotel. Børve, originally from Ullensvang, was a highly trained architect, having studied at universities in Trondheim and later Hannover in Germany. After its opening in 1894, the hotel drew royal guests from all over Europe, playing host to the likes of King Oscar II of Sweden, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King Leopold II of Belgium, King Haakon VII of Norway and his family, and several members of the British aristocracy.
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Wikipedia