Another long day trip goes via Seljord and E 134 to Heddal. Guided tours of the largest stave church in Norway begin at 10 a.m. The church was built in the 12th to 13th centuries and is one of Telemark’s major tourist attractions.  From Heddal follow the E 123 via Notodden to Saggrenda and the Silver Mines. A mining train takes you 2300 m into the mountain to Kongens Gruve (the King’s Mine) 342 m below the surface. This is the largest separate mine. The silver mines were worked from 1624 to 1958 and produced a total of 1350 metric tons of silver. At its peak in the 1770s it was Norway’s largest workplace with about four thousand employees. German mining engineers and miners have left their mark on the mining community that grew up and formed the basis for the mining town at Kongsberg.

After your visit to the mine you should drive on to the old mining town Kongsberg and see:

• Kongsberg Church, consecrated 1761, one of the largest wooden churches in the country, seating 2400. The interior is luxuriously decorated in Baroque and Rococo styles, strongly inspired by the German architects who designed the church.
• The Norwegian Mining Museum (Norsk Bergverksmuseum) with the Collections of the Silver Mines, Norsk Bergindustri, the Royal Mint Museum, Kongsberg Ski Museum and the museum of the Kongsberg Armoury (Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk).

Return by the the same route, total distance about 230 km.