Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRONDHEIM
POP 170,000
Trondheim,Norway'soriginalcapital,isnowadaysthecountry'sthird-largestcityafterOslo
and Bergen. With its wide streets and partly pedestrianised heart, it's a simply lovely city
with a long history. Fuelled by a large student population, it buzzes with life. Cycles zip
everywhere, it has some good cafes and restaurants, and it's rich in museums. You
can
ab-
sorb it in one busy day, but it merits more if you're to slip into its lifestyle.
History
In 997, King Olav Tryggvason moored his longboat alongside a broad sandbank at Nidaros
(meaning 'mouth of the River Nid') and established his farm. One plausible theory has it
that Leifur Eiríksson (or Leif Ericson as he's usually transcribed in English) visited the king
therebeforesettingsailforIcelandandGreenlandandpossiblybecomingthefirstEuropean
to set foot in North America. (If you're from the USA, the Viking staring out to sea near
the Hurtigruten quay may seem familiar. That's because he's an exact replica of the Ericson
statue in Seattle that commemorates the tens of thousands of Norwegian emigrants to the
New World.)
In 1030 another, subsequently more famous, King Olav (Haraldsson) was martyred in
battleatStiklestad,about90kmtothenortheast,andcanonised.Nidarosbecameacentrefor
pilgrimsfromalloverEurope,itsbishopricembracingNorway,Orkney,theIsleofMan,the
Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. It served as the capital of Norway until 1217, ruling
an empire that extended from what is now western Russia to, possibly, the shores of New-
foundland. The cult of St Olav continued until the Reformation in 1537, when Norway was
placed under the Lutheran bishopric of Denmark.
THE PILGRIMS' WAY
Nidaros Cathedral was built on the site of the grave of St Olav, who was canonised
and declared a martyr after his death at the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. The
cult of St Olav quickly grew in popularity and as many as 340 churches were dedic-
ated to the saint in Scandinavia, Britain, Russia, the Baltic states, Poland, Germany
and the Netherlands. Pilgrims from all over Europe journeyed to his grave at Nidaros,
