Flooding in Lillehammer: integrating cultural heritage into disaster risk management

The Advancing Cultural Heritage Governance for Resilient Climate Adaptation (AGREE) project focuses on integrating cultural heritage into disaster risk management strategies, particularly in flood-prone regions. Climate change intensifies natural and socio-economic impacts globally, leading to more severe weather events, such as floods, that threaten lives, infrastructure, and heritage sites.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines climate risks as the result of interactions between human and ecological systems' climate-related hazards, exposure, and vulnerability. Urban cultural heritage can be better protected by enhancing disaster risk management strategies that account for its unique and complex vulnerabilities.

Lillehammer, situated along the river Mesna in Norway’s Gudbrandsdal Valley, represents an ideal case study for AGREE, given its historical and cultural value and exposure to flooding. This post will illustrate Lillehammer's history and cultural heritage, as well as its challenges and opportunities in evolving risk management practices and adaptation strategies.

Flooding in Norway (taken from Infotiles):

• Floods are mainly due to snowmelt and extreme rain
• Spring is the high season for floods in eastern Norway
• It will cost 85 billion Norwegian Kroners (NOK) to secure buildings against floods and landslides
• 210,000 buildings in Norway need protection against floods and landslides, according to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate.
• In the last 10 years, damage caused by weather and natural events has cost 27 billion NOK in Norway. Some of this damage could be prevented with a warning system and swift action from the municipalities.

Lillehammer: A historical overview

Located at the northern end of Lake Mjøsa, Lillehammer has been a hub for trade and settlement since its early days. The town achieved city status in 1842, shaped by industrial expansion and strategic positioning along major transportation routes. The river Mesna has historically been central to Lillehammer's development, supporting trade, transport, and hydropower generation. Lillehammer was founded according to the principles of urban planning in the 19th century, following classical European design, with a grid layout and orderly streets. This planned approach emphasised aesthetics, symmetry, and functionality, with each structure designed to reflect the city’s cultural and architectural heritage.

Urban development in Lillehammer exemplifies the early practices of modern urban governance, where city planning was understood as both a technical and legal endeavor. In the 1800s, the prevailing mindset viewed natural landscapes as manageable and incorporated them into the city's layout. This approach resulted in a distinctive combination of urban and natural elements, creating an ordered cityscape where buildings and streets harmonized with the surrounding landscape. Indeed, these qualities, closely linked to Lillehammer’s mountain landscape, contributed to the city hosting the 1994 winter Olympics.

Lillehammer’s relationship with the Mesna River

The river Mesna, flowing through Lillehammer from the east, has played a defining role in the city’s history and continues to influence its urban landscape. Over the years, different views on the river’s value and purpose have emerged. Initially, Mesna served as a critical resource for hydropower and transportation, supporting industries like logging and milling. In the early 20th century, log driving on the Mesna facilitated timber movement, reinforcing the river’s industrial importance.

However, by the late 19th century, attitudes towards nature conservation gained traction, with the river’s waterfalls attracting tourists and inspiring artists. As Norway’s national focus shifted toward environmentalism, the river began to take on recreational and aesthetic roles. Today, the Mesna is a popular site for leisure activities, with locals and tourists enjoying its scenic beauty from walking paths, parks, and riverside cafes. This evolving relationship with the river reflects broader changes in society’s values and priorities.

Dr Paloma Guzman surveys the Mesna river which runs through the center of Lillehammer. The river has played an important role in the industry of the city. Photo credit: Ole Fredrik Unhammer

Cultural heritage and flood risks in Lillehammer

Lillehammer’s rich cultural heritage and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events pose unique challenges. Floods in Norway are primarily driven by snowmelt and heavy rainfall, and climate change is expected to intensify these occurrences. Notable floods in Lillehammer, such as the “Storfosen” of 1789 and Vesleofsen in 1995, have caused significant damage, particularly from debris, such as timber washed away from sawmills upstream. As floods disrupt daily life and damage property, they threaten the preservation of heritage sites, which hold cultural and historical significance for the community.

Flood risk management in Norway has traditionally relied on physical interventions, such as levees and stone riprap, to protect vulnerable areas. However, there is a growing recognition that traditional infrastructure alone is insufficient to address the complex challenges of climate change. For instance, flood control measures in Lillehammer have expanded beyond physical barriers to include predictive systems and adaptive planning, which aim to mitigate risk while respecting the town’s historic character.

Integrating heritage into disaster preparedness: Lillehammer’s approach

Recognising the importance of cultural heritage in fostering social identity and resilience, Norwegian authorities are exploring ways to integrate heritage preservation into broader risk management frameworks. In collaboration with local and national authorities, the AGREE project has participated in testing a national pilot project for the risk and vulnerability analyses specific to cultural heritage sites. These assessments, known as ROS analyses (risiko og sårbarhetsanalyser), help identify potential hazards and vulnerabilities that could impact heritage sites during natural disasters.

A recent example of these efforts followed the extreme weather event “Hans,” which caused severe flooding and landslides, highlighting the need for robust preparedness plans. Such initiatives prioritise protecting cultural assets while enhancing the municipality's readiness to respond to future climate-related events.

AGREE’s view on Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approaches can be a valuable framework for municipalities to incorporate cultural heritage into their disaster planning. Our starting point is that this challenge requires fundamental and paradigmatical changes in managing urban cultural heritage. These should involve climate policies that address lifestyles and society in a broad way so that HUL conservation can create sustainable changes.

The IPCC defines transformation in the context of climate change adaptation as “the altering of fundamental attributes of a system (including value systems; regulatory, legislative, or bureaucratic regimes; financial institutions; and technological or biological systems)”. Thus, cultural heritage management is increasingly linked to biodiversity protection, just energy transitions, urban equity, and inclusive development.

Evolving urban governance and flood preparedness in Lillehammer

Modern urban planning in Lillehammer reflects a balance between development and preservation, integrating flood risk management into the city’s governance framework. Historical urban development in Lillehammer imposed a structured grid layout over the natural landscape, characterised by rich water streams. This practice was typical of the 19th century, aiming to control and organise the environment. This approach has gradually shifted as contemporary urban governance increasingly considers natural dynamics and climate impacts in planning decisions.

Today, Lillehammer’s approach to urban governance involves integrating natural landscape elements, like the Mesna River, into urban planning decisions that respect heritage values while addressing modern-day environmental challenges. The river Mesna, once a symbol of industrial power, has transitioned into a valued recreational and ecological asset. This change has led to the development of public spaces along the river, encouraging interaction between the town’s residents and its natural surroundings. These evolving practices underscore the role of urban governance in mediating human-nature interactions within a cultural landscape.

Future directions: a preparedness plan for cultural heritage

As part of the AGREE project’s objectives, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) participated in a pilot project led by the Norwegian Directorate of Cultural Heritage to strengthen municipalities' heritage protection through a comprehensive preparedness plan that accounts for several risks, including environmental hazards. The project is working on refining guidelines that will provide municipalities with a unified methodology for conducting these analyses, integrating heritage protection into broader social security frameworks.

The Risk and Vulnerability Analysis workshop participants attended an on-site assessment of the wooden house environment in Storgata. Photo credit: Ole Fredrik Unhammer

Working with practitioners and authorities, NIKU aims to contribute to the shift in Norway’s approach to disaster preparedness, placing cultural heritage alongside other critical governance areas of concern, such as infrastructure and public health. AGREE’s research efforts could have a significant transfer potential for many European regions, where heritage sites face heightened flooding risks. The forthcoming preparedness plan will be valuable for local governments, helping them safeguard heritage sites while addressing contemporary climate challenges.

Lillehammer’s legacy and resilience

Lillehammer’s experience illustrates how urban planning and heritage management approaches must transform and adapt to changing environmental conditions while preserving cultural identity. Integrating heritage into flood risk management reflects a broader trend in urban governance, where cultural assets are increasingly recognised as essential components of community resilience.

In this way, the AGREE project’s case study on Lillehammer illuminates the transformative role of cultural heritage in fostering resilience, offering valuable insights for other communities facing similar climate risks. AGREE aims to support collaborative efforts and forward-looking policies in Lillehammer as a town that respects its history while preparing for an uncertain future.

Read our previous blog post to find out more about our UK case study – Hull. You can also visit our project website to stay up-to-date with project activities and you can join the AGREE LinkedIn group. 

AGREE is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - UK; Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MUR) - Italy; and Research Council of Norway - Norway. The project consortium comprises the University of Leeds, UK (lead institution); Politecnico di Torino, Italy; the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (Norway); and societal partners: the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM); the British Council; the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Hull City Council and the Innlandet County Authority, Norway.