The story of Norrøna began long before the company itself was founded.
In 1918, Jørgen Jørgensen – the great-grandfather of Norrøna's current owner and leader, who bears the same name – and Einar Bredesen established Bredesen & Jørgensen Polar at Markveien 34 in Oslo, Norway.
The company produced and sold leather goods and sporting equipment, laying the foundation for what would eventually become one of the world's oldest family-owned outdoor brands.
But Jørgensen wanted more. Driven by an uncompromising belief that outdoor equipment should be built to a higher standard, he left the company in 1929 to establish his own. That decision – and his relentless pursuit of quality – became the beginning of Norrøna.
