View to the glacier Briksdalsbreen, Norway

The Briksdalsbreen glacier in Norway is part of the Jostedalsbreen National Park. The Jostedalsbreen is the largest glacier in continental Europe and covers 486 m2. The Briksdalsbreen is a side arm of this large glacier and covers approximately 10 km2.

The glacier was formed about 2,500 years ago. Since the start of measurements in 1900, the glacier has both increased and decreased. This growth and decrease is due to changes in temperature and precipitation. In the first half of the 20th century, the glacier retreated more than 800 meters. This made the Briksdalsvatn Lake visible, which now lies at the foot of the glacier. In the second half of the 20th century, hundreds of meters were added, completely covering the lake again. But after 2000, a rapid decline started. In 2007, the glacier no longer came into contact with the water of the lake. It's not entirely clear to me if the glacier has increased since then, but when I was there in 2022, it was clear to see that the glacier hadn't been near the water for a while.

You can hike to the glacier and Lake Briksdalsvatn from a parking lot. The walk is very busy, you will encounter many tourists. This is somewhat compensated by the interesting information signs along the way that tell you what happened at that site in relation to the glacier.