Exploring Central Norway: Trondheim

I had the chance to visit Trondheim, Norway, a couple of years back. It's a great little city in central Norway, that, while not worth a visit alone, surely is a great stop when in comes to exploring these parts of Norway, or even if you are on your way further north. Trondheim lies on the south shore of the Trondheimsfjord at the mouth of the river Nidelva.

Iconic Sights

There are many iconic sights form here, including the wharves at the eastern bank of the river Nidelva, depicted in the shot above. The city is dominated by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and other technology-oriented institutions, which in result means that students comprise almost a fifth of the population of the city, and thus it is heavily influenced by student culture.

Nidaros Cathedral

The Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace are located side by side in the middle of the city centre. The cathedral, built from 1070 on, is the most important Gothic monument in Norway and was Northern Europe's most important Christian pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages. Today, it is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world, and the second largest in Scandinavia.

Downtown Trondheim

Most of the downtown area of Trondheim is scattered with small specialty stores and shops, however a considerable part of the downtown shopping area is concentrated around the pedestrianized streets Nordre gate (Northern street), Olav Tryggvasons gate and Thomas Angells gate even though the rest of the city center also is riddled with everything from old, well-established companies to new, hip and trendy shops.

Tyholt Tower

Tyholttarnet (Tyhold Tower) is a 124 metre high radio tower with an observation deck that is located in the city. The tower was built in 1985 and features a revolving restaurant, that I visited and had lunch in. The restaurant is 80 metres up, and makes one complete rotation per hour.

Fjords, Nature and Destinations around Trondheim

Exploring the rest of Norway from Trondheim is very easy, since the city is well connected. Trondheim has an international airport which is Norway's fourth largest airport in terms of passenger traffic. I arrived in Trondheim, via a flight from Oslo. Major railway connections are the northbound Nordland Line, the eastbound Meraker Line to Are and Ostersund in Sweden, and two southbound connections to Oslo, the Roros Line and Dovre Line, the latter of which I took when I was returning, and it's a scenic ride, that I highly recommend. Other places of interest around Trondheim are: Bratsberg just outside of the city and the Kristiansten Fortress, shown in the image below.

I hope you enjoyed the sights and stories from Northern Europe. Let me know what you think of Trondheim!

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