Trondheim Attractions

The main exports are fish products and canned fish.

The downtown area has numerous specialty shops, although the main shopping district is concentrated around Nordre gate and the Olav Tryggvason gate.

History

Trondheim (formerly spelt Trondhjem) was originally the name given to the whole of the Trondheimfjord area, the original nucleus of the kingdom of Norway, where the Norwegian kings were elected by the Øreting. Here in 997 Olav Tryggvason (or Tryggvessøn) built the royal stronghold of Nidarnes and a church dedicated to St Clement. King Olav the Saint is regarded as the real founder of the town (1016), which was known until the 16th century as Nidaros ("mouth of the river Nid"). The town developed rapidly after Olav's death in 1030, when hosts of pilgrims traveled to the shrine of the sainted king. The cult of St Olav made Trondheim the largest and wealthiest town in Norway, with nine churches and five religious houses in addition to the Cathedral. The Reformation put an end to the pilgrimages; the saint's shrine was carried off to Denmark and destroyed, and his remains were buried at an unknown spot within the Cathedral. All but a few of the churches and convents disappeared. Thereafter the town was destroyed by fire, either wholly or partially, no fewer than 15 times. In spite of all this, however, at the beginning of the 19th century it was still as large as Oslo, with a population of some 9,500. After the coming of the railroad, connecting the town with the rest of the Norwegian system in 1877 and with the Swedish system in 1881, Trondheim enjoyed a period of rapid growth. A decision by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) that the town should revert to its old name of Nidaros as from January 1 1930 was reversed in February of the following year in recognition of the townspeople's preference for Trondheim (the spelling adopted instead of the previous Trondhjem).

Trondheim experiences no darkness from May 20 to July 20 and mainly a maritime climate. There is moderate snowfall from November to March, good skiing opportunities occur in surrounding areas.