Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
12 Trondheim
F ounded by the Viking king Olaf I
Tryggvason in the 10th century,
Trondheim is Norway's third-largest
city and was the country's capital until
the early 1200s. Scenic and pleasant,
it's a bustling university center, with
expansive avenues created after a fire
razed most of the town in 1681. The
city lies on the south bay of the Trond-
heim Fjord, at the mouth of the
Nidelven River.
Noted for its timbered architecture,
Trondheim retains much of its
medieval past, notably the Gothic-
style Nidaros Cathedral. Pilgrims
came from all over Europe to worship
at the shrine of Olaf, who was buried
in the cathedral and canonized in
1031.
The city's fortunes declined during
the Reformation. Under the Nazi
occupation Trondheim became the
base of German naval forces in north-
ern Norway, with U-boats lurking
deep in its fjord.
Today Trondheim is a progressive
city with a rich cultural life, as well as
a high-technology center for research
and education. Its town center is com-
pact and best explored on foot. Most
of the historic core of Trondheim lies
on a small triangular island sur-
rounded by water but linked via
bridges.
Trondheim lies some 684km (425
miles) north of Bergen, and 552km
(343 miles) northwest of Oslo.
1 Orientation
ESSENTIALS
ARRIVAL
BY PLANE Flights to Trondheim land at Vaernes Airport ( & 74-84-30-00 ),
lying 32km (21 miles) east of the city center. Most visitors fly here from either
Bergen or Oslo. There are also daily connections to and from Copenhagen. Ser-
vice is provided by SAS ( & 74-80-41-00; www.scandinavian.net).
Once you arrive at the airport, you can take an airport bus, Flybussen ( & 73-
82-25-00 ), costing 62NOK ($8.80) for a one-way trip into the center. The trip
takes 40 minutes, ending at the rail depot. From the center of Trondheim, buses
leave from Erling Skakkes gate daily from 5am to 9pm. Departures Monday to
Friday are every 15 minutes, with curtailed departures on Saturday and Sunday.
You can also take a taxi from the airport to the center, costing around 500NOK
($71) per person.
BY TRAIN Two trains a day arrive from Stockholm (trip time: 12 hr.) and
three trains per day arrive from Oslo (trip time: 7 hr.) into Trondheim Sen-
tralstasjon. A typical fare—say, from Oslo to Trondheim—costs 748NOK
($106) one-way. Trondheim also has links to Bodø if you're heading for the Arc-
tic Circle. This latter trip takes 10 hours, costing 861NOK ($122) one-way. For
rail information, call & 81-50-08-88 or visit www.nsb.no.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search