Municipality of Trondheim - Via Querinissima

Trondheim Municipality - Tråanten tjïelte

Public body – Norway

“We arrived in Trondheim, and the next day, a Friday, the Ascension Day of our Lord, we were escorted into the city to a very magnificent church dedicated to St. Olaf, where the rector and all the inhabitants were assembled for mass.”

The cathedral was built between 1070 and 1300, and is Norway’s most central church. The constitution of 1814 stipulated that it should be the coronation church for Norway’s regent.

It is the burial church of Olav the Saint. Nidaros Cathedral is Norway’s original archbishop’s church and one of the Nordic countries’ largest medieval churches.

On Pietro Querini’s return journey back from Røst to Italy with boat, they were loaded with dried fish. They had a stop in Trondheim on the trip, where they had the dried fish blessed in the Nidaros Cathedral.

Trondheim Today

Trondheim is the third most populous city in Norway with 212,660 inhabitants.

The city was established in the year 997. Trondheim is a center for higher education in Norway, and houses the largest campus of the country’s largest university. Trondheim was formerly called Nidaros.

Olavsfest(Trondheim Internasjonale Olavsfest) is a cultural festival that is organized in Trondheim around Olsok (28 July – 3 August) every year. The events take place on stages across the city; among others Nidaros Cathedral, Vår Frue church and Byscenen, as well as on outdoor stages in Borggården at Erkebispegården and at Kristiansten fortress.

Over the course of five days, the festival holds a series of concerts in all genres from pop and rock to classical music and traditional church music.

In addition, the West Front meeting and other program of talks at the intersection between faith and society are an important part of the festival, as well as a rich program of services and activities for pilgrims.

Olavsfest also has a large market in the area around Nidaros Cathedral, in addition to an extensive family programme.

The festival also collaborates with several local and national cultural institutions and organisations. The historical anchoring of Olav’s feast days is linked to the importance of Olav the Saint for Norway over the past thousand years.