Sun-starved residents of a remote Norwegian village unveiled an ingenious mirror system today to bring natural light to their mountain valley home and liberate them from darkness that envelops them six months a year.
Hundreds of villagers sporting sunglasses stared at three giant mirrors which were perched on a 400-metre mountain peak, eagerly waiting for sunlight to be deflected onto their little square.
It took a while, but the mirrors eventually delivered as the sun poked out from behind the clouds to deliver the first -- far from dazzling -- rays of early winter sunlight.
The mountains surrounding Rjukan village have deprived its 3,500 inhabitants of direct sunlight for six months every year, until local artist Martin Andersen revived a century old idea to reflect it with mirrors.
"From now we'll have a sun festival every day," he told AFP, referring to local celebrations which take place annually when the village finally emerges from darkness.
From school children with suns painted on their faces to police officers with sunglasses normally out of season by now -- -- organisers said 2,500 people were there to witness the event, many parking deck chairs and parasols in sand shipped in for the day as an orchestra played "Let the Sun Shine".
Despite strong initial reservations from some, five million kroner (USD 849,000) was raised -- 80 per cent from sponsors -- to install the three 17-square-metre mirrors now towering over Rjukan village.
A computer ensures the mirrors follow the sun and reflect the light on the market square, lighting up a 600-square-metre area -- nearly the size of three tennis courts.
"It's pretty amazing," exclaimed Bjarne Randlev, a pensioner who has lived his entire life in Rjukan. "I would never have imagined I'd see the sun here at this time of the year."
Free from school for the day, Antonio Luraas Navarro said: "It feels like you're in the south with this light." "But it's a bit too cold," he added, jumping up and down to warm up.
Apart from hoping to cheer up its winter-weary citizens, the locality -- already known for skiing -- also hopes to capitalise on the extensive media coverage of the feat to bring in even more tourists.
"We're looking for both," said Steinar Bergsland, the mayor of the former industrial area.
Norwegian industrialist Sam Eyde founded the corporation Norsk Hydro which gave birth to Rjukan village, the site of an enormous waterfall harnessed to provide energy for a chemical fertiliser factory.
From just 300 inhabitants spread out across scattered farms in 1900, the population grew to 10,000 by 1913.
