The story of Lysgårdsbakken

The jumps in front of you were not the original plan. When Lillehammer won the 1994 Winter Olympics, the idea was to use the existing Balbergbakken near Fåberg, north of town, but it was rejected for technical reasons, and an all-new arena was built here at Lysgård instead. Parliament granted the money on 1 August 1990, and the work was completed by December 1992. The arena was set deep into the terrain to shield the jumpers from the wind and to limit its impact on the surroundings.

During the Games it hosted the ski jumping and Nordic combined events, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. It holds 35,000 spectators, 7,500 of them seated. In 2007 the large hill was rebuilt with a bigger profile and new plastic, so both hills can be used in summer.

Today the venue sees 80,000 jumps every winter and 20,000 in summer, and a chair lift carries visitors to the top of the large hill.