Trondheim, Norway

 Trondheim, Norway    

Munkholmen at the mouth of the harbour in Trondheim. It was used by the Jarls of Lade as an execution site with severed heads stuck on stakes pointing to the fjord. In 995AD, there was a rebellion against the king and the severed heads of rebels Haakon Sigurdsson, and Tormod Kark were put on stakes on the island by King Olaf Tryggvason. He later continued the tradition but the heads of criminals and political opponents were now put on stakes facing the city.

King Olav Tryggvason founded Trondheim in 997AD, and it became the capital of the country.

The island was a monastery from the 12th to 16th centuries and later became a fortress in 1658 until 1893 but used as an anti aircraft battery by the Germans after the capture of Norway. It is now a summer tourist attraction.

                                          
The ADIA Perla, a German cruise ship and only significant to me as it was in harbour in Oslo when I was there a few days earlier.

It is a Hurtigruten tradition that their ships and passengers greet each other. The ships horn will sound and people rush onto deck to wave. There is only one Huritgruten mooring space so the sister ship had to sail before we could dock. It was partly arranged and both ships gave out flags to wave.

Bad picture but you get the idea.

Some of us waving back.

Who discovered America first? Lief Ericsson nearly five centuries before Columbus.

We waled through the port towards the city centre passing Rockheim, a museum dedicated to music, a former grain silo built in 1905 but recently renovated and the new extension added on top.

And we walked over the 'new' station.

                                        

A local power station, actually an office block but adding to Norway's green credentials as its roof is all solar panels. It produces enough power in a year for all its own needs, to power local buses who have charge points under the building and sells the surplus to the grid.

The colourful former warehouses on the old waterfront. The city had become so crowded that the railway and the docks were built in front of it on reclaimed land.

More warehouses.

An old wooden building on the high street, only one of a few that have survived frequent city fires, a common event in Norwegian old, cramped wooden centres.

The royal palace, a former merchants house.

The clock tower in the main square.

One of three former palaces overlooking the square.

The second palace but the third burnt down and was replaced with a shopping mall. 

The outside of the north transept of the cathedral. Although not visible there are more gargoyles on the north side than the south side. Unlike southern Europeans who think hells and demons live in a hot place, northers believe hell is a cold place where demon live and is further north. Therefore it makes sense to have more gargoyles on this side to protect the cathedral from devils and demons.

The west facade of Trondheim Cathedral, dubbed the Notre Dame of the North, a Gothic style cathedral and the similarity to Notre Dame is striking.

The organ at the west end of the nave.

A detail of one of the windows. 

Looking along the nave.

Looking up at the transept.

The inside of the North facade.

The main altar.

In contrast to the magnificence of the structure of the cathedral, the archbishops palace next door is a modest affair.

Nearby is the Art Museum in a fairly plain building but it was closed.

Nearby is an Inca style monument but it is only a piece of art and the is no connection between Norway and South American ancient civilisations.

This is Thomas Angells' house. He was a wealthy merchant and other than a brother and a niece, he had no family. He was very religious whereas his niece was a socialite and he wanted his wealth to be useful so he left his estate to the city with strict instructions on how it should be used. A technical school was established that became the university and an old people's home for women.

There is a monument to him opposite his house.

Running through the city is the Nidelva river. There were warehouses along its river banks and many merchants lived opposite their warehouse on the left hand side of Kjopmannsgata. Nearby is the Ganle Bybro iconic bridge with red portals. The local legend says that couples who kiss under the arches will stay together for live. The portals.

The same bridge but from another bridge further down the river.

A view of the warehouses lining the river bank.

Then it was back to the shop and we cast off to sail to Bodo.

The Kjeungskjær Lighthouse is a coastal lighthouse located on a tiny island at the mouth of the Bjugnfjorden about 3.5 kilometres west of the village of Uthaug and guides shipping safely to and from Trondheim and along the coast.

The lighthouse was built in 1880 and there is no beach. It built of stone with an octagonal tower that is painted red, standing 17.5 metres high. 

The 14,400 candela light sits at the top at an elevation of 20.5 metres  above sea level. The white, red, or green light (depending on direction), occults once every 6 seconds. There is a fresnal lens that has been in use since 1906 which can be seen for up to 15 kilometres. The lighthouse is lit for most of the year but it is dark from late spring to mid summer due to the midnight sun.

The lighthouse keeper and his family lived on the lower floors of the building but in bad weather could be marooned there for ages. It was automated in 1987 and the accommodation upgraded. It is available for hire and guests can stay overnight in summer.   

                                    

Whilst we were going past, we had some refreshments on offer, blue mussels and white wine although at 145 Norwegian Krona for a single glass, I gave that a miss.