Trondheim
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| County | Sør-Trøndelag | |
| District | ||
| Municipality | NO-1601 | |
| Administrative centre | Trondheim | |
| Mayor (2005) | Rita Ottervik (AP) | |
| Official language form | Neutral | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage |
Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0.11 % |
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| Population - Total (2006) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density |
Ranked 3 160,000 3.37 % 8.6 % 480/km² |
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| Coordinates | ||
| www.trondheim.kommune.no |
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Trondheim is a city and municipality in the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. Founded in 997, Trondheim is today a centre of education, technical and medical research, with 30,000 students, and is the country's third largest city, with 160,000 inhabitants in the city proper (December 2006). The Trondheim Region has 246,751 inhabitants.
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[edit] Geography and climate
Trondheim is situated where the river Nidelva meets a large fjord; Trondheimsfjorden, and is the centre of the Trondheim Region. At summer solstice, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 23:40, but stays just below the horizon - there is no darkness from May 20 to July 20 ([1]). At winter solstice, the sun rises at 10:00, stays very low above the horizon, and sets at 14:30. Trondheim has a predominantly maritime climate ([2]), but mostly sheltered from the more windy conditions on the coast. The warmest temperature ever recorded is 35°C on July 22, 1901, and the coldest is -26.1°C in February 1899 ([1]). The municipality's top elevation is the Storheia hill, 565 metres (≈1850 ft) above sea level.
[edit] Institutions
The cathedral of Trondheim, Nidaros Cathedral, is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world, and the largest in Scandinavia. The synagogue is among the most northern in the world. The main regional theatre, Trøndelag Teater, is situated in Trondheim (which is also the oldest theater in Northern Europe still in use). The NTNU university is located in Trondheim, as is the regional hospital, (St Olavs Hospital). A new hospital is currently being built ([3]), with projected costs of 12 billion NOK. SINTEF, the largest independent research organisation in Scandinavia, has 2000 employees; 1400 of these are located in Trondheim ([4]). The local newspaper is Adresseavisen, the oldest active newspaper in Norway (established 1767) which also owns the regional television channel TVAdressa and the radio channel RadioAdressa.
[edit] History
- For the ecclesiastical history, see Archiepiscopate of Nidaros
People have been living in this region of the country for thousands of years (see Rock carvings in Central Norway, Nøstvet and Lihult cultures and Corded Ware culture). In ancient times the Kings of Norway were hailed at Øretinget in Trondheim, the place for the assembly of all free men by the mouth of the river Nidelva. Harald Fairhair (865 - 933) was hailed as the king here, as was his son, Haakon I - called 'the Good'. Trondheim was named Kaupangen (the market place or trading place) by Viking King Olav Tryggvason in 997 AD. Fairly soon, it came to be called Nidaros. In the beginning it was frequently used as the seat of the King, and therefore, for a time, the capital of Norway (until 1217).
Leif Ericson lived in Trondheim around 1000 AD as a military retainer (Old Norse: "hird"-man) of King Olav. A statue of Leif, donated by the "Leif Ericsson Society" in Seattle, is located at the seaside, close to the old Customs Building, the cruise ship facilities and the new swimming Hall. The statue is a replica, the original being located at a Seattle marina.
Trondheim is located at the mouth of the river Nidelva, due to its excellent harbour and sheltered condition. The river used to be deep enough for most boats in the Middle Ages. An avalanche of mud and stones made it less navigable and partly ruined the harbour in the mid-17th century.
The major battle of Kalvskinnet took place here in 1179; king Sverre Sigurdsson and his Birkebeiner warriors were victorious against Erling Skakke (a rival to the throne).
Trondheim was the seat of the (Catholic) Archbishopric for Norway from 1152. Due to the introduction of Lutheran Protestantism in 1537, the last Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson had to flee from the city to the Netherlands, where he died in present-day Lier, Belgium.
The city has experienced several major fires. Since it was a city of log buildings, out of wood, most fires caused severe damage. Great fires ravaged the city in 1598, 1651, 1681, 1708, 1717 (two fires that year), 1742, 1788, 1841 and 1842. It must be noted that these were only the worst cases. The 1651 fire destroyed 90% of all buildings within the city limits. The fire in 1681 (the "Horneman Fire") led to an almost total reconstruction of the city, overseen by General Johan Caspar von Cicignon (originally from Luxembourg). Broad avenues like Munkegaten were made, with no regard for property rights, in order to stop the next fire. This gave the sleepy provincial town of roughly 8000 inhabitants a certain flair.
After the Peace Treaty of Roskilde 26 February 1658, Trondheim (together with the rest of Trøndelag) became Swedish territory for a brief period; the area was reconquered after 10 months; the conflict was finally settled by the Peace Treaty of Copenhagen, 27 May 1660.
During World War II, Trondheim was occupied by German forces from April, 1940 (on the first day of the invasion of Norway, Operation Weserübung) until the war's end in Europe, in May, 1945.
[edit] The city's names
Originally given the name Kaupangen ("Marketplace") by Olav Tryggvason, Trondheim was for a long time called Nidaros ("Mouth of the river Nid"), or in the Old Norse spelling Niðaróss. In the late Middle Ages the name was changed to Trondheim (Old Norse spelling Þróndheimr). In the Dano-Norwegian period, during the years as a provincial town in the united kingdoms of Denmark-Norway, the city name was spelled Trondhjem. The words heimr, heim and hjem all mean home, the word Trond is a tribal name, i.e. Home of the Trønders.
Following the example set by the renaming of the nation's capital, Nidaros was reintroduced as the official name of the city for a brief period 1 January 1930–6 March 1931. The name was restored in order to reaffirm the city's link with its glorious past, despite the fact that a 1928 referendum on the name of the city had given this result: 17,163 votes in favour of Trondhjem and 1,508 votes in favour of Nidaros. However, public outrage, even taking the form of riots, later in the same year forced the Storting to settle for the compromise Trondheim, a name that sounded slightly less Danish.
Trondheimen historically indicates the area around the Trondheimsfjord. The spelling Trondhjem was officially rejected, but many still prefer the now unofficial spelling of the city name; Trondhjem. Today, most inhabitants still refer to their city in their local dialect (Trøndersk) as "Tronn-yam", where "tronn" rhymes with "gone".
The traditional German version of the city's name was Drontheim. During the Nazi German occupation, 1940–45, the Germans made it into a major base for submarines (DORA 1) and also contemplated a scheme to build a new city of 250,000 inhabitants, Neu-Drontheim, centered 15 km (10 mi) southeast of Trondheim, near the wetlands of Øysand in the outskirts of Melhus municipality. The new city — northern capital of a germanized Scandinavia — was meant to be the future German main naval base of the North Atlantic region, and would be the largest of all German naval bases. For those with a particular interest in the history of the Second World War, a short trip towards Øysand by car will allow a glimpse of the only remains of this grand plan, in the form of a few rusty steel sticks in the sea just by the main road..
[edit] City boroughs
On January 1, 2005, the city was reorganized from 5 boroughs into 4, with each of these having separate social services offices. Population statistics are as of January 1, 2005.
Until 2005, these were the boroughs (after the municipality mergers in the 1960s):
- Sentrum
- Midtbyen
- Øya-Singsaker
- Rosenborg-Møllenberg
- Lademoen
- Lade
- Strindheim
Nedre Elvehavn is part of Østbyen
- Strinda
- Charlottenlund-Jakobsli
- Ranheim
- Berg-Tyholt
- Åsvang-Stokkan
- Jonsvatnet
- Moholt
- Nardo
- Nardo
- Nidarvoll-Leira
- Risvollan-Othilienborg
- Bratsberg
- Byåsen
- Ila-Trolla
Archbishop's Palace, Elgeseter Bridge and Nidelva. - Sverresborg
- Byåsen
- Hallset
- Ila-Trolla
- Heimdal
- Flatåsen-Saupstad
- Heimdal
- Sjetne-Okstad
- Tiller/Tillerbyen
- Kattem
- Byneset-Leinstrand
[edit] Main sights
[edit] Nidaros Cathedral
Two of Norway's greatest tourist attractions are the Nidaros Cathedral and Archbishop's Palace. They are located side by side, in the middle of historic Trondheim. The large 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, with pilgrimage routes from Oslo in southern Norway and from the Jämtland and Värmland regions of neighbouring Sweden.
During the Middle Ages, and again after independence was restored in 1905, the Nidaros Cathedral has been the coronation church of Norwegian kings. King Haakon VII was the last monarch to be crowned in 1906. Starting with King Olav V in 1957, coronation was replaced by anointing. In 1991, the present King Harald V and Queen Sonja were anointed in the cathedral. On May 24, 2002, their daughter Princess Märtha Louise married writer Ari Behn in the same cathedral.
[edit] Other landmarks
- DORA 1, the german submarine base housing the 13th flotilla during the occupation of Norway 1940 - 1945. Today the bunker is housing many archives, among them the city archives, the university and state archives.
- Kristiansten Fortress, built 1681–84; repelled invading Swedes in 1718
Central Trondheim as seen northwards from cathedral tower towards Trondheimsfjord and Munkholmen island. - Munkholmen; a vacation island with a history as a prison, a fort and a monastery
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) main building, at Gløshaugen hill
- Stiftsgården, the royal residence in Trondheim
- Sverresborg, King Sverre's medieval castle (now an open-air museum)
- Utsikten (The View), a popular guide destination, this location on the western hills of Trondheim provides a great view of most of the downtown and surrounding areas, including the Nidarosdomen cathedral. Follow the main western route out of town, Byåsveien, then make a right following Fridtjof Nansens Vei (Road), reaching Utsikten on the left hand side after about 300 meters.
- Tyholttårnet TV/radio tower, with a revolving restaurant (1 rev./hr)
- Studentersamfundet i Trondhjem, the Student Union House
- Statue of Olav Tryggvason, in the city's central plaza, mounted on top of an obelisk. This is also a sun clock, but the use of summer time in Norway has made it one hour wrong all through the summer. Olav Trygvasson founded Trondheim 1000 years ago.
[edit] Major museums
- Trondhjems Kunstmuseum – Museum of Arts* Sverresborg Trøndelag Folkemuseum – Museum of Cultural History* Telemuseet – Norwegian Telecom Museum in Trondheim* Trondhjems Sjøfartsmuseum – The Trondheim Maritime Museum
- Vitenskapsmuseet – Museum of Natural History and Archaeology
- Vitensenteret – Trondheim's Science Centre
- Rustkammeret – The Armoury; adjacent to the Archbishops's Palace
- Ringve Museum – Ringve National Museum (Museum of music and musical instruments), and Ringve botanical garden
- Norsk Rettsmuseum – The national museum of justice, Norway (includes a section about the German occupation 1940-45)
- Sporveismuseet – Trondheim Railway Museum
- Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum – National Museum of Decorative Arts
- Det jødiske museum – The Jewish Museum (including a holocaust section); co-located with the city's synagogue
[edit] Education
- See also the list of primary schools in Trondheim.
There are 11 high schools. Trondheim katedralskole ("Trondheim Cathedral School") was founded in 1152 and is the oldest gymnasium-level school of Norway, while Brundalen VGS ("Brundalen secondary") is the largest in Sør-Trøndelag with its 1100 students and 275 employees.
Although the official population count, as of 2004, is slightly above 150,000, the large number of resident college and university students, roughly 30,000, makes the actual population close to 180,000 (in Norway, students are typically registered in their home towns/municipalities, and not in their place of study). Trondheim is home to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet, NTNU) with its 20,000 students, as well as Sør-Trøndelag University College (Høgskolen i Sør-Trøndelag, HiST) with 6,000 registered students.
The Air Force Academy of the Royal Norwegian Air Force is located at Kuhaugen in Trondheim.
Trondheim is a centre for maritime, technical and medical technology research.
[edit] Transportation
One of the largest airports of the country is Trondheim Airport, Værnes; situated in Stjørdal. The highway E6, passing through Trondheim, is Norway’s most important route to the continent. Major railway connections are the northbound Nordlandsbanen (to Mo i Rana 1942, Fauske 1958, Bodø 1962), the eastbound Meråkerbanen (opened 1882) to Sweden via Storlien, and two southbound connections to Oslo, Rørosbanen (opened 1877) and Dovrebanen (opened 1921). The Coastal Express ships (Hurtigruten; covering the Bergen–Kirkenes stretch of the coast) call at Trondheim, as do many cruise ships during the summer season. Since 1994 there is also a fast commuter boat service to Kristiansund, the nearest coastal city to the south.
Trondheim also boasts the northernmost tramway line in the world: the Gråkallbanen, the last remaining bit of the Trondheim Tramway is an 8.8 km (5.5 mi) single-track route which runs from the city centre, through the Byåsen district, and up to Lian, in the large recreation area Bymarka. Trondheim also boasts the world's only bicycle lift, Trampe.
The bus network, operated by Team Trafikk runs troghout most of the city and its suburbs. Bus service starts at about 05:00 and the latest service is around midnight. In addition, the Nattbuss (Night Bus) service ensures cheap and effective transportation for those enjoying nightlife in the city centre during the weekends. These are a number of longer one-way routes starting in or around the Olav Tryggvason Street at every full hour from midnight to 04:00. Although there are few routes, the length of the Nattbuss rides ensures that most people can reach their (home/suburb) destination at much lower cost than the taxi fares. The Nattbuss fare is NOK 50 (as of 2006). Regular bus fares are NOK 22 for adults and NOK 15 for children (2006). Most commuters and students buy one-month passes - price ranges from about NOK 400 to NOK 650. Bus transportation is the preferred means of collective transportation for most Trondheim inhabitants, as can be seen on the vast number of buses in the congested city traffic during rush hours. This preference is also largely influenced by the relative difference in cost compared to Taxi service, which is very expensive compared to bus fares.
[edit] Music
Trondheim has a broad music scene, and is known for its strong communities committed to rock, jazz and classical music, the two latter spearheaded by the music conservatory (now part of NTNU) and the municipal music school (Trondheim Kommunale Musikk- og Kulturskole), with the Trondheim Symphonic Orchestra and the Trondheim Soloists being the best-known arenas. Classical artists hailing from Trondheim include violinist Arve Tellefsen, Elise Båtnes and Marianne Thorsen.
Some selected pop/rock artists/bands hailing from and associated with Trondheim include Åge Aleksandersen, Margaret Berger, Desperado, DumDum Boys, Gåte, Johndoe, Keep Of Kalessin, Lumsk, Motorpsycho, Kari Rueslåtten, The 3rd and the Mortal, TNT, Vømmøl Spellmannslag.
Georg Kajanus, creator of the bands Eclection, Sailor and DATA, was born in Trondheim. Sailor had considerable success across Europe and Australia in the Seventies with such hits as 'Girls, Girls, Girls' and 'A Glass Of Champagne'.
The city is said to have one of the better punk rock and alternative scenes in Norway. The most popular punk scene is called UFFA. There's also a band named after the city itself, who hail from Scotland.
StarGate Studios is situated in Trondheim.
[edit] Shopping and commercial districts
Most of the downtown area is scattered with small specialty stores and shops, from computer stores to bakeries, hairdressers, fashion outlets and so on. The main downtown shopping area is concentrated around the Nordre Gate (Northern Street - pedestrian street only) and the Olav Tryggvason Gate.
In the mid- to late '90s the area surrounding the old drydock and ship construction buildings of the defunct Trondhjems mekaniske Værksted shipbuilding company at the Nedre Elvehavn (Lower River Docks) were renovated and old industrial buildings were torn down to give place for semi high-rise condominiums. A shopping mall was also built, known as Solsiden (The Sunny Side). This is currently one of the most popular areas to both live and shop in, especially for younger people.
On the south side of Trondheim, the City Syd (City South) shopping mall and adjacent malls and superstores are popular due to the free parking and relatively easy access by car compared to the congested downtown streets.
[edit] Sports and recreation
Trondheim is the home town of football team Rosenborg Ballklub (colloquially known as RBK), a successful team nationally as well as internationally, playing in the UEFA Champions League for the 11th time in 2004. The team's name, and initially most of its players, came from an east-end borough.
The city is also known for its active winter sports scene, with cross-country skiing tracks in Bymarka and a ski jumping arena in Granåsen, as well as nearby alpine skiing facilities at Vassfjellet. The city hosted the 1997 Nordic skiing World Championships, held World Cup ski sprint races in the city centre in February 2004, and hosted the 2006 National Biathlon Championships. Also, Trondheim battles for the 2018 Olympics under the slogan "Æ e med" (literally meaning "I'm in" on Trøndersk).
Trekking and cross-country skiing are popular among Norwegians. In Trondheim, people often go to the hills surrounding the city - Bymarka in the west and Estenstadmarka in the east - to engage in these activities. Many kilometers of prepared skiing tracks are available during the winter, as are a few establishments serving food and beverages in the middle of the forested skiing areas [5].
Mountain hiking is also popular, and several mountain ranges are within easy reach - Trollheimen in the southwest, Dovrefjell in the south and Sylane in the east.
Ladestien provides idyllic surroundings for walks along the fjord.
There is also an 18 hole Golf course bordering Bymarka, with a nice view of the city and the fjord, and with an opportunity for playing Golf at midnight ([6]).
Salmon fishing is very popular, and the record in Nidelva is 31.8 kg ([7]). Gaula, one of the best salmon rivers in Europe ([8]), empties into Gaulosen at Leinstrand in Trondheim municipality, south of the city center.
[edit] Twin cities
Sister cities (twin cities) of Trondheim are:
Darmstadt, Germany
Dunfermline, Scotland
Graz, Austria
Kópavogur, Iceland
Norrköping, Sweden
Odense, Denmark
Petah Tikva, Israel
Ramallah, Palestinian territories
Split, Croatia
Tampere/Tammerfors, Finland
Tiraspol, Moldova
Vallejo, California, USA
Keren, Eritrea (twinned with the Trondheim borough of Heimdal)
[edit] Miscellaneous
Although Trondheim is one of Norway's larger cities, wild animals can still be seen. Otters thrive in Nidelva, and on bright summer nights you might meet a badger or a fox looking for something to eat. Moose and deer are common in the hills surrounding the city, and might wander into the city, especially in May when the bewildered one year old is chased away by the mother, or in late winter when food grows scarce in the snow-covered higher regions.
Twice Oscar-nominated actress, film director and honorary doctor at NTNU Liv Ullmann was born in Tokyo (1938), but grew up in Trondheim.
In the science fiction novels of the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card, Trondheim is the name of a very cold colony planet on which the main character Ender resides for a time.
French comics author Lewis Trondheim adopted his pen name after the city.
There is a Scottish band named after the city.
Trondheim is one of few Norwegian municipalities where the municipal flag is not a banner of arms of the municipal coat of arms.
[edit] Trivia
July 2006 saw the world premiere of ‘Sailor, The Musical Journey’ at the Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, Scotland, which is twinned with Trondheim. Written by Bill Blenman, the new musical was comprised entirely of compositions by Trondheim-born composer Georg Kajanus and imaginatively taped into Kajanus’ early ‘70’s creation of sailors on shore leave and red light districts for his band Sailor. The musical also featured two new, previously unheard compositions by Kajanus.
[edit] External links
- Trondheim's Official Website, with City Guide
- Kosmorama - Trondheim International Film Festival
- St.Olav Festival in late July / early August
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
- Downtown Trondheim with Nidelva river
- Trondheim travel guide from Wikitravel
- One photograph from Trondheim every day
- The Trampe Bicycle lift
- Trondheimsbilder - Historical photographs of sights and people in Trondheim
- Lights of Trondheim - photo gallery
| Municipalities of Sør-Trøndelag |  |
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Agdenes | Bjugn | Frøya | Hemne | Hitra | Holtålen | Klæbu | Malvik | Meldal | Melhus | Midtre Gauldal | Oppdal | Orkdal | Osen | Rennebu | Rissa | Roan | Røros | Selbu | Skaun | Snillfjord | Trondheim | Tydal | Ørland | Åfjord |
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