In praise of dreams: Trondheim

Historically Nidaros. It's located in Sør-Trøndelag region and is the third biggest city in Norway. I heard about it before - a couple years ago I have read "Sagan om Isfolket" by Margit Sandemo - a Scandinavian saga in which the action takes place in Norway. Trondheim or Nidaros is mentioned there several times. Probably it was the first time when I heard about this city and since then I was looking forward to see it.

Before I moved to Norway, I was mentally prepared to stay there for four months. I didn't even miss home or think about coming back. It was Agata who convinced me to change my plans. Actually I wasn't sure until she said that during her travel to Poland she'll probably visit Trondheim... Trondheim? Trondheim!

We stayed there for the whole day and I think it was enough to see many interesting places:

Vår Frue Kirke - "Our Lady's Church"

Built around 1200.

Shall we go inside?

Rococo wall.

Actually, I have been to Evangelical church once, but it was quite austere with white empty walls. Simplicity and lack of ornamentation was what I have been expecting of Protestantism. So I was pleasantly surprised by its interior...

Altar.

View of the organ and back of the church.

Manhole cover.

'Studenten i den gamle stad' Statue.

Does it look like a stained glass window? This 'temple' is a shopping mall ;)

Statue of skater - Hjalmar "Hjallis" Andersen.

This seemingly historical building turned out to be a bank.

Library.

Gamle Bybro

Old Town Bridge that crosses the Nidelva River.
Gamle Bybro is also known as Lykkens portal - 'Gate of Happiness'

Bakklandet

Area of small wooden houses between Old Town Bridge and Bakke Bridge on the east side of Nidelva river.

Gate of Happiness and... our bags, obviously. As you may guess, the bigger one is mine. The main impediment of this trip was to carry a heavy suitcase for the whole day but still - I think it was worth going there.

Bakklandet seen from the other side - Bakke Bridge.

The Old Town Bridge is in the middle, at the end of buildings.

Nidaros Cathedral

The northernmost medieval cathedral in the world!

0 km til Nidaros! Finally :)

The church was founded in 1070, in 1152 became a cathedral and ca. 1300 the construction was completed. Since the Reformation it's Lutheran. When we came there in the morning, the cathedral was closed, but even outside it makes a big impression.

View of the church, west front.

Norwegian Notre-Dame :)

Gargoyles.

The Tower.

♥

Make a guess, who else has seen Nidaros?

The weather was changing during the day but fortunately it wasn't raining until we left.

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The Archbishop's Palace.

Let's go!

The Archbishop Residence is the oldest secular building in Scandinavia.

Then we moved to churchyard...

I like cemeteries, especially the old ones.

"Et lux perpetua luceat illi" comes from Requiem Mass and means "May everlasting light shine upon him".

Olav Tryggvason - king of Norway from 995 to 1000,

tried to convert the Norse to Christianity by force.

He is said to have founded the city of Trondheim in 997.

Statue of Olav Tryggvason located in the central plaza of Trondheim.

Actually, Olav Tryggvason is quite known in Poland. According to some legens, he had spent three years in Viking settlement - Jomsborg (today's Wolin) in the northwestern Poland.

Some statues in Norway are quite unusual...

Well, it's definitely not The Capitoline Wolf.

But there is also something nice and furry - llama ;)

Stiftsgården, the royal residence.

Sleeping on the street? Maybe not the best idea, but take a look, such a nice blanket! Thankfully, no one went out the cafe or whatever it was ;) Well, I have to admit that the night before Trondheim we spent in train and we were quite exhausted. So who needs a short break?