The Majestic Rondane

Rondane National Park (Norwegian: Rondane nasjonalpark) is the oldest national park in Norway, established on 21 December 1962.^[1] The park contains ten peaks above 2,000 metres (6,560 ft), with the highest being Rondeslottet at an altitude of 2,178 m (7,146 ft). The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer.

The park was extended in 2003, and now covers an area of 963 km² (372 sq mi) in the counties Oppland and Hedmark. Rondane lies just to the east of Gudbrandsdal and two other mountain areas, Dovre andJotunheimen are nearby.

The landscapes of Rondane have inspired many Norwegian writers. Probably the best-known work is Peer Gynt (1867), a play by Henrik Ibsen, which is partly set in Rondane:

Act 2, Scene lV(Among the Ronde mountains. Sunset. Shining snowpeaks all around.Peer Gynt enters, dizzy and bewildered.)PeerTower over tower arises!
Hei, what a glittering gate!
Stand! Will you stand! It's drifting
further and further away!
...

With this scene, Ibsen wrote Rondane into one of the 19th centuries better-known plays and made Rondane a symbol for Norway.