Issue 17 April 2020: Ancient Postal Routes

"Very hazardous Road, passing Cliffs and Valleys, where it was not possible to ride, but where the Postal Farmers had to carry the Mailbags on their Backs," was the description of Vindhellavegen in Lærdal.

In 1793, the road was finally upgraded, and Kongevegen was the first road between the east and the west. But the stretch at Vindhella was steep and hard for both horse and man to descend. In the 1840s, the road authority built a new road for horse and cart on high walls through the pass, and they added an extra curve to reduce the incline.

The narrow curves on high walls with a sharp incline has made Vindhellavegen one of the most beautiful road-related cultural heritage sites in Norway.

Kongevegen has been named Norway's Most Beautiful Road award and it has won EU's highest cultural heritage award, Europa Nostra. Vindhellavegen contributed to this.