Only five minutes easy walk from the seawalk pier you find the beautiful park Malakoff close to Eidselva (the salmonriver of Eid). This was the location of Norway´s first military training camp established in 1628. As many as 1500-2000 young men then came to Nordfjordeid during the month of June in the approximate periode from 1850 to 1920.
The military activity at Malakoff was then at its peak, and the military history in Eid is a strong and proud one. Every second year the locals now perform a historical play. It it based on what life might have been like in the military camp in the late 1800s, It is called “Elskhug og Eksis”, which loosely translates into “Love and Military Drills”.
Today, the area is a large lovely park, with footpaths along the river banks. It has pleasant areas for barbeques, and for friends to just meet and gather.
The river of Eid (Eidselva) is a an excellent salmon river. It flows from the Hornindal Lake (Hornindalsvatnet). It runs through majestic scenery along the valley of Eid,. It is like a snake that moves towards the fjord ( it is 10,7 km in length). Every year, on the first day of June, the salmon anglers gather in Eid as the salmon fishing season begins that very day at midnight.
The Eidselva is known for the largest female salmon catch, which occured in 1944. This salmon weighed 27,6 kilos. The fishing in the Eidselva is good, and the area is of great interest for both sports and recreation purposes. The Eidselva is a National salmon water-course, and is therefore protected from polluting and building activities.
Malakoff is also where Nordfjordeid, at the end of July of every year, has its rock music festival. Malakoff gathers about 25.000 visitors who stay for the two to three days of the festival. Both national and international music bands and stars attract many visitors to the festival. The festival is very popular, and it brings in young people from far and wide. The Malakoff Rock Festival has for several years been nominated as the best festival of the year, by the Norsk Rockeforbund.
