TRONDHEIM WALKABOUT

 
 

A TRONDHEIM WALKABOUT:  

This morning as we sailed into Trondheim we passed the MS Nordkapp as she sailed South. In true Hurtigruten Tradition Norwegian flags were passed out so we could salute as the ships klaxon was sounded.

In Norway there are thousands of fjords, which were slowly formed by glaciers forming and deepening the valleys. The Trondheimsfjord is the country’s third largest with it is 130 kilometers long, and is home to the world’s best seafood. Here we find the city of Trondheim. 

 

 
Sailing into Trondheim you sail past Munkholmen, a small island which was Trondheim’s execution site during the Viking Age. Here ones enemies heads were placed on spikes to show strength. Just after the year 1000, a Benedictine monastery was built on the islet, probably one of the first two in the Nordic countries. In 1658 the monastery was converted into a fortress and a prison, and later also to a customs station.

 
Trondheim was founded by Olaf Tryggvason who was the King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken, and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway.

Olaf was important in the conversion of  the Norse to Christianity, but he did so forcibly within his own kingdom. He is said to have built the first Christian church in Norway in 995, and to have founded the city of Trondheim in 997.  His statue is located in the city's central plaza.

 

We struck out walking towards the city in search of the Old Town Bridge. We were told if a couple kisses on the bridge their love will last forever. (we did)

Gamle Bybro (The Old Town Bridge) was first built on this site in 1681 at the same time as the Kristiansten Fort was constructed.
Gamle Bybro connects the City Center With Bakklander, and crosses the river Nidelva from the south end of Kjøpmannsgata. It was built in 1681 in connection with Cicignon’s town reorganization, and was positioned so that it could be reached by cannons from Kristiansten Fortress. A guardhouse and customs house stood at each end of the bridge. The customs house on the west side still stands and is now used as a kindergarten. Gamle Bybro has undergone several modifications, and the bridge and gates as they stand now date from 1861. 

 

 

 
Gamle Bybro is also known as the ‘Portal of Happiness’ after the lyrics of the popular romantic waltz ‘Nidelven stille og vakker du er’, written by Oskar Hoddø. Both the song and the characteristic appearance of the portals have probably contributed to the bridge witnessing many a marriage proposal over the years.

 
It is said that Hoddø wrote the waltz about Nidelva one night at the end of April 1940 while standing at Gamle Bybro. During the Second World War, Hoddø was a resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation of Norway. On 17 November 1943, he and eight other resistance fighters were executed by the Nazis at Kristiansten Fortress.

 
After finding the Old Town Bridge we made our way back via the city center plaza to see the statue of Olaf Tryggvason. 

 

 
Today we we covered 13,000 steps during our walkabout. The walking can be rather tricky at times given the ice and slush sidewalks. 

 



We did see the sunrise a bit after 1000 and clouds rolled in as the sun was setting a bit after 1400.


Back onboard, we had lunch and are catching up on our log and this blog. 



Today there is a film on basic photography and later  tonight a lecture on navigation.