Trondheim (Nidaros in Norse — "the mouth of the Nid"; Þrándheimr in Old Norse; population 210,000 city, the third-largest city in Norway) is on the southern shore of the Trondheimsfjord (the longest and deepest fjord in central Norway — 135 km long, 620 m deep at maximum), at the mouth of the Nidelva River. Trondheim was the medieval capital of Norway (the royal seat and the most important city in Norway from the Viking Age until the 16th century) and the most important pilgrimage destination in Scandinavia (the Nidaros Cathedral, built over the tomb of Saint Olav II Haraldsson (995-1030 CE — the Norwegian king who Christianised Norway and was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030; canonised 1031 as "Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae" — the Eternal King of Norway) was the most visited pilgrimage site in Scandinavia in the medieval period). The Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen — the Gothic cathedral begun 1070 and substantially rebuilt and extended in the 12th-14th centuries; the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world (at 63.4° N latitude); the largest medieval structure in Scandinavia; the only medieval Gothic cathedral in Norway; the national cathedral of Norway (Norwegian monarchs are consecrated at Nidaros Cathedral — the most recent was King Harald V in 1991)) is the defining structure of Trondheim and the most significant religious building in Norway. The coloured wharfhouses (Bryggen) along the Nidelva River (the row of 17th-18th century warehouses on the north bank of the Nidelva — painted in the traditional Trondheim colours of yellow, orange and red, reflected in the river) are the most photographed image of Trondheim. The Old Town Bridge (Gamle Bybro — the 1861 ironwork bridge across the Nidelva with the painted wharfhouses in the background) is the most photographed single viewpoint in Trondheim. Stiftsgården (the Royal Residence in Trondheim — built 1774-1778; the largest wooden building in Scandinavia (140 rooms); the official Norwegian royal residence in Trondheim, used by the royal family during state visits).
Nidarosdomen (the Nidaros Cathedral — the national cathedral of Norway and the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world (63.4° N latitude); built on the tomb of Saint Olav II (the Norwegian king martyred at Stiklestad in 1030 and canonised in 1031); construction history: the first stone church over the tomb of St. Olav was built by King Olav Kyrre around 1070 CE; the cathedral was substantially rebuilt and extended in the 12th-14th centuries in the Romanesque and then Gothic styles; the current building (the Romanesque nave (12th century), the Gothic octagon (the Romanesque eastern transept rebuilt as an octagonal Gothic structure 1248-1300 — the octagon directly above the tomb of St. Olav; the architectural form symbolises the heavenly Jerusalem), the Gothic choir (begun 1150, completed in the 13th century), and the Gothic west facade (the most elaborate medieval sculpted facade in Scandinavia — the 150+ carved figures on the west facade include Norwegian kings, saints and biblical figures; the facade was severely damaged by fires in 1531 and 1708 and was comprehensively restored in the 19th-20th century — the restoration work is ongoing)); the Crown Jewels of Norway (displayed in the Archbishop's Palace adjacent to the cathedral — the Norwegian Regalia (the St. Olav's Crown, the sceptre, the orb and the sword of state) used at the royal consecration ceremonies).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideArchbishop's Palace (Erkebispegården — the most completely preserved medieval secular building in Scandinavia; the palace complex was built around the Archbishop's residence beginning in the 12th century and reached its greatest extent in the 16th century before the Protestant Reformation (1537) stripped the archbishops of their power and the palace was converted to secular use (the palace became the government residence of the king's representative in Trondheim and then a military barracks)); the Archbishop's Palace Museum (the museum documenting the history of the palace and the Norwegian medieval church; the most significant single artefact: the original medieval sculptures from the Nidaros Cathedral west facade (the figures removed during the 19th-20th century restoration and replaced by reproductions; the originals are displayed in the museum in the most significant collection of medieval Norwegian stone carving); the Norwegian Crown Jewels (the Regalia room: the Norwegian Crown Regalia used at the 1991 consecration of King Harald V — the St. Olav's crown (19th century, modelled on the medieval original lost at the Reformation), the sceptre, the orb, the anointing horn and the coronation robe); the Finger Bone of St. Olav (the bone relic in the gold reliquary — one of the most important pilgrimage relics in medieval Scandinavia).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideGamle Bybro (Old Town Bridge — the cast-iron suspension bridge across the Nidelva River, built 1861; the most photographed structure in Trondheim; the view from the bridge (the view looking west (downstream) from the Gamle Bybro: the row of painted 17th-18th century wooden wharfhouses (bryggen) on the north bank of the Nidelva, reflected in the still water of the river — the Trondheim wharfhouses are painted in the traditional colours: the warm yellows, the orange-reds and the dark maroons of the Norwegian vernacular painting tradition; the effect is of a mirrored Venetian-style waterway in the Norwegian city; the wharfhouses (the buildings along Kjøpmannsgata — the merchant street that runs along the north bank of the Nidelva from the old city centre to the fjord): the warehouses were built for the storage of goods transported by river from the agricultural hinterland and by sea from the Norwegian coast; the goods stored included dried fish (the tørrfisk from the Lofoten fishing grounds, arriving via the Trondheim trading network), timber, grain and the copper from the Røros mines)); the Nidelva walkway (the riverside promenade along both banks of the Nidelva — the most pleasant urban walk in Trondheim, connecting the Gamle Bybro to the fjord inlet and the Nedre Elvehavn harbour).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideStiftsgården (the Royal Residence in Trondheim — built 1774-1778 by the merchant Cecilie Christine Schøller; the largest wooden building in Scandinavia (140 rooms, 4,000 m²; the building was sold to the Norwegian state in 1800 and has served as the official royal residence in Trondheim since then); the building (the yellow-painted wooden facade in the Louis XVI style — 58 windows on the facade facing the main square (Munkegata); the interior (open for guided tours in summer): the 18th-century period rooms with the original furniture, the dining room (the royal dining room set for a state dinner), the reception halls with the crystal chandeliers and the tapestry collection); then Trondheim evening food: the klippfisk (the salt-dried cod — the Trondheim export product (the bacalao de Trondheim was one of the most important Norwegian trade goods in the 18th-19th century; shipped to Spain and Portugal where it is the basis of the bacalhau tradition); the pinnekjøtt (the traditional Norwegian Christmas lamb ribs — steamed over birch sticks (the pinnekjøtt from the Trøndelag region (the region around Trondheim) is considered the finest in Norway because of the highland lamb breeds of the Trøndelag mountains)); the Ringnes øl (the Norwegian beer from the Oslo brewery but served throughout Norway; the local Trondheim craft beer (the Austmann Bryggeri and the Dokkhuset Brewery)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMunkholmen ("Monk Island" — the small island 2 km from the Trondheim harbour in the Trondheimsfjord; accessible by ferry from the Ravnkloa fish market pier in Trondheim centre (15 min crossing, NOK 100 return, operates summer only May-September)); the island's extraordinary layered history: the Viking Age execution site (the most dramatic possible history for a small island: in the Viking Age (before 1000 CE), Munkholmen was the principal place of execution in Trondheim (Nidaros); the heads of executed criminals and defeated enemies were displayed on poles on the island — the most prominent public statement of Trondheim's legal authority; the 995 CE execution of the Earl of Lade (the most powerful chieftain of Norway before King Olav I Tryggvason converted the country to Christianity) may have taken place at Munkholmen); the Benedictine monastery (King Olav II ("the Holy") founded a Benedictine monastery on Munkholmen around 1028 CE (the first monastery in Norway); the monastery was dissolved at the Reformation in 1537); the military fort (the monastery buildings were converted to a state prison in 1658 and then to a military fort (the Fort of Munkholmen); the 17th-century fortifications are the surviving structure on the island); the beach (the small sandy beach on the south side of the island — the most popular Trondheim summer swimming spot (the Trondheimsfjord water temperature reaches 18-20°C in July-August)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideRockheim (the National Museum of Rock and Pop Music — housed in a converted grain warehouse at the Nedre Elvehavn harbour in Trondheim; the museum documents Norwegian and international rock and pop music from the 1950s to the present; the building (the spectacular cantilevered concrete cube (the "black box") that projects over the original grain warehouse below — the architecture by the Danish firm Snøhetta is one of the finest museum buildings in Norway); the collection: the Norwegian rock and pop history (the Norwegian contribution to international popular music is disproportionately large: the a-ha (the Norwegian band whose 1985 "Take on Me" with the iconic pencil-sketch animated music video is one of the most-watched music videos in history; the Morten Harket-Paul Waaktaar-Mags Furuholmen lineup that produced 8 studio albums); the Ylvis ("What Does the Fox Say?" — the 2013 viral comedy song by the Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker brothers from Bergen); the Kings of Convenience (the Norwegian folk-pop duo); the interactive music-making installations (the museum has interactive rooms where visitors can play instruments, mix tracks and perform in the recording studio simulator).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideTrondheimsfjord experience (the 135-km-long, 620-m-deep fjord that defines the geography of the Trondheim region; the fjord opens to the Norwegian Sea to the northwest and is flanked by the agricultural Trøndelag plains to the south and the spruce-covered hills to the north): the fjord kayaking (sea kayak from the Nedre Elvehavn harbour into the Trondheimsfjord — the fjord waters in the city harbour area are calm (the wind is blocked by the headland) and the kayaking distance to Munkholmen island is 2 km; the evening kayak in the long Nordic summer twilight (June-August) is the most scenic urban paddling in Norway); the fjord cruise (the RIB (rigid inflatable boat) high-speed tour of the Trondheimsfjord — the 2-hour tour at 50+ km/h over the fjord surface, passing the Munkholmen island, the historic fortifications and the inner fjord before turning south to the Nidaros Cathedral view from the water); the salmon in the Nidelva (the Nidelva River — the Trondheim city river — is one of the most productive Atlantic salmon rivers in Norway; salmon fishing permits are required; the salmon run is June-August).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideTrondheim food scene (the most sophisticated restaurant scene in northern Norway — the city's university population, the NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology — the largest university in Norway at 43,000 students) and the growing international community have created a diverse and innovative restaurant culture): the Norwegian New Wave cuisine (the Tromsø and Trondheim restaurants lead the "New Norwegian" cuisine movement — the use of local, seasonal and indigenous Norwegian ingredients in contemporary European technique; the sea urchin (sjøpinnsvin — the Norwegian West Atlantic sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) — the most complex and iodine-rich seafood flavour in the Norwegian sea; harvested from the Trondheimsfjord in winter); the brown crab (taskekrabbe — the edible crab (Cancer pagurus) from the Norwegian west coast; the Trondheim restaurants serve the whole crab with the traditional accompaniments (the aïoli, the lemon, the dark rye bread)); the cloudberry dessert (the multebær from the Trøndelag mountain bogs — the most prized Scandinavian berry served with the crème fraîche and the almond biscuit); the Norwegian cheese (the Norvegia (the mild Norwegian hard cheese) and the Jarlsberg (the holed hard cheese invented by agricultural students at the Ås University in 1956)).
Røros (Røros Mining Town — UNESCO World Heritage 1980; 170 km southeast of Trondheim (2h by car or 2.5h by train)); the most completely preserved 17th-19th century mining town in Scandinavia; the town was established in 1644 following the discovery of copper ore in the Rogen mountains; the Røros Copper Works (the copper mining and smelting operation that operated for 333 years (1644-1977) — the longest continuously operating mining company in Norwegian history; the copper from Røros was the most important Norwegian export in the 18th century (second only to dried fish); the town (the 80+ surviving log and timber-frame houses and the church (Bergstadens Ziir — "the Jewel of the Mountain City"; the 1784 Baroque church — the largest church in Norway by capacity at its completion)); the Røros church (the largest Baroque church in Norway — built 1780-1784 at the peak of the mining company's prosperity to serve the 6,000-person mining community; the interior has the painted galleries for the different social classes (the mine owners' box, the workers' benches) and the carved altarpiece); the Røros Museum (the smelter (Smelthytta) — the 1646 copper smelter complex with the original furnaces, the water wheel and the exhibition on the 333-year mining operation).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideRøros old town walking tour (the Røros protected area — the most intact pre-industrial Norwegian town in existence; the 80+ protected wooden buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage List represent the complete townscape of a mid-18th century Norwegian mining community: the log houses (the Norwegian log building tradition (laftehus) — the interlocking corner joints of squared or rounded logs (the traditional Norwegian construction technique that is distinct from both the American log cabin tradition and the central European blockhaus tradition); the Røros log houses have the characteristic dark-painted facades (the red ochre (jernmønje) paint that characterises all historical Norwegian wooden buildings — the red colour of Scandinavian wooden buildings comes from iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) paint that preserves the wood and became the standard Norwegian building colour from the 17th century); the miners' houses (the small single-storey log houses of the mineworkers — the contrast with the two-storey merchant houses on Bergmannsgata (the main street) illustrates the sharp social stratification of the mining company town); the Peder Hiort's house (the most elaborate surviving 18th-century merchant house in Røros — the carved wooden portal and the formal garden).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideReturn from Røros to Trondheim (by train or car) and the Bakklandet neighbourhood evening walk (Bakklandet — the most atmospheric neighbourhood in Trondheim: the 18th-century wooden houses on the east bank of the Nidelva below the Kristiansten Fortress (the 1682 fortress on the hill above Bakklandet — built to defend Trondheim after the 1681 Trondheim fire; the fortress has never been taken by a foreign power); the Bakklandet streets (the narrow cobblestone lanes of Bakklandet with the 18th-century painted wooden houses (the typical Trondheim residential colours: yellow, white, ochre and red) converted to the most charming café and independent shop neighbourhood in the city; the Old Town Bridge (the Gamle Bybro viewpoint (the bridge looking west towards the wharfhouses is the most photographed image in Trondheim) is the best approached at the golden hour of the Norwegian summer evening (22:00 in June-July)); the Nidelva riverbank cafés (the outdoor café terraces of Bakklandet fill from 17:00 on warm summer evenings — the most pleasant urban outdoor dining in Trondheim).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideTrondheim final evening (the music culture of Trondheim — the city has the most active jazz and folk music scene in northern Norway): the Trondheim Jazz Festival (the most important jazz festival in Norway after the Molde Jazz Festival — held annually in May; the Trondheim Jazz Festival presents Norwegian and international jazz in the venues of the historic city (the Nidarosdomen (the cathedral as a jazz venue), the Dokkhuset concert hall and the Bakklandet outdoor stages)); the traditional Norwegian folk music (the hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) — the Norwegian national instrument: the decorated violin with 4-5 sympathetic strings under the bowing strings; the most complex single-player folk music instrument in Europe; the hardanger fiddle tradition is strongest in western Norway but Trondheim has an active folk music community (the Trondheim Folk Music Centre)); the Trondheim craft beer scene (the Austmann Bryggeri (the most highly regarded craft brewery in Trondheim — the pale ales, the IPAs and the seasonal saisons using Norwegian malt and the indigenous Voss kveik yeast (the historic Norwegian farmhouse yeast strain that ferments at 30-40°C — the highest fermentation temperature of any European brewing yeast — and produces an intensely fruity ester profile unique to the Norwegian farmhouse tradition)).