( CNN ) -- A sun-starved Norwegian town has finally seen the light -- by installing giant mirrors on the surrounding mountains to reflect rays onto its market square . The small town of Rjukan sits deep in the narrow Vestfjord Valley , in the Telemark region south-west of Oslo . The towering peaks that surround it rise to almost 2,000 meters above sea level and block out the sunlight for half the year , meaning Rjukan residents live in a permanent shadow from September to March . But all that changed this week , with the official launch of a project first mooted a century ago . Three high-tech mirrors , with a combined reflective surface of 50 square meters , have been put into operation on a ridge on Gaustatoppen mountain , brightening up the previously gloomy town center by flooding it with up to 600 square meters of sunlight . Twenty-first century technology has made the $ 850,000 project possible , with heliostats -- computer-powered mirrors -- shifting every 10 seconds to track the movements of the sun during the day . But the idea to lighten up the dark town actually dates back 100 years . Rjukan was originally founded as a company town for Norsk Hydro , which set up a fertilizer plant here to utilize the hydro power from the nearby 104 meter Rjukanfossen waterfall . The story goes that the aluminum and renewable energy company 's founder , Sam Eyde , wanted a way to brighten up the existence of his shadowed laborers -- and also to make them work more effectively during the winter . The local newspaper published a suggestion by local bookkeeper Oskar Kittelsen to use a mirror to reflect sunlight onto the town , and Eyde picked up on the idea . Technological limitations of the day meant the scheme never came to fruition , however , and instead northern Europe 's first cable car ( known as Krossobanen ) was built in 1928 to give Rjukan residents sunlight exposure at the top of the mountain . More : Inside the cold heart of an Icelandic volcano . And that was that -- until the sun mirror concept was revived nearly a century later in 2005 by local artist Martin Andersen , who raised the sponsorship funds ( mainly from Norsk Hydro ) and interest in the project . Solar Tower Systems , a company that builds mirror systems for solar thermal power plants in hotter climes , was drafted in to install the mirrors on the mountain wall -- not an easy task . `` There 's no road leading to the construction site , '' says CEO Joachim Maass . `` You can hike there in an hour or so , but there was no alternative than to carry heavy equipment there by helicopter . '' There was no way to get a heavy crane up there , so Maass had to improvise to maneuver the six-meter high mirrors into place . `` We used ancient tools , such as tripods made from wood nine meters long which we could bend together . We lifted this modern equipment with technology that people used 100 years ago , and it worked really well . '' As well as improving the vitamin D intake of residents , tourism officials hope that the sun mirrors will boost the city 's winter visitor numbers . More : 10 things to know before visiting Sweden . `` It 's magnificent now that it 's in place , '' says Tracy Murphy , owner of town center business CafÃ© Nye Tider . `` [ This week 's ] mirror reveal was something that has never happened before -- sun in the middle of Rjukan . `` It 's amazing and it gives the town a real draw in the winter time . Most of tourism in the winter is focused on snow sports in the mountains and ice climbing in the local areas around us . The fact that people will come to town just to see if the sun is shining is fantastic . '' Rjukan 's mayor , Steinar Bergsland , agrees . `` The sun mirror means a lot to Rjukan , both for tourism and for industry , which is our origin , '' he says . `` It 's a perfect combination of technology and art -- and of course it is a great welfare activity for the citizens of Rjukan . '' Not that Rjukan is without its attractions already . As well as the cable car ( Krossobanen ; +47 35 09 00 27 ) and the winter sports on Gaustatoppen Mountain , the town is near the vast mountain plateau of Hardangervidda National Park , good for hiking , cross-country skiing and reindeer spotting , among other activities . The area is also the location of the World War II sabotages made famous by the 1965 movie `` The Heroes of Telemark . '' Rjukan 's industrial heritage is celebrated in the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum , and could even see it earn UNESCO World Heritage status by 2015 ( it 's currently on the 'nominated ' list ) . Thanks to a 100-year old idea , visitors can also come for a spot of sunshine , too . Getting there : . Rjukan is a 2.5 hour coach journey from Oslo Airport . Coaches run five times a day . Fly to Oslo with : Norwegian Air ; SAS .
Sitting in a sun-deprived valley , Rjukan installed mirrors to reflect sunlight onto the town 's square . Idea initially born a century ago but was not realized due to the lack of technology at the time . Local businesses hope new light will draw tourists to the town in winter .