Torvet, Trondheim

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The monument of OLAV TRYGGVASON, also known as Holy Olav,who was the founder of Trondheim is situated in the centre of the giant townsquare.
He was born in Russia and started to introduce christianity to Norway. He was forced to leave the country,but some time later he returned to fight for his throne and was killed in the battle of Stiklestad. He was buried under the cathedral and became a martyr and a saint of the catholic church.

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The Torget is the heart of the town of Trondheim. In this nice square you can see a daily markets. In the middle of the square there is a column with the statue of Olav I Tryggvason, the settler of Trondheim, work of W.Rasmussen (1923)

Along the way back to Torvet, we saw Trondheim Tinghus and concluded that Trondheim must have the loveliest courthouse entrance in the world! Just take a look at the picture, you can see colourful post-World War II frieze with symbols and personalities important to the history of Trondheim. But let your admiration stop there, you're not permitted inside unless you're a civil servant or have recently committed a crime;p.

The town square of Trondheim was relatively easy to find, even for a blur sod at 8am, sans coffee. Just at the heart of the square, we found a soaring granite column(Trondheim Torg ) with a statue of Trondheim's Viking founder. It was so huge that it was almost impossible to miss (Not unless you're a bat with no sonar abilities). Interestingly enough, this column also doubles up as the world's largest sundial apart from being the marker of the town square. If you don't believe me, look very carefully on the cobbeled base. You'll find markings tracking the seasonal direction of the sun around the column on which the Viking stands. So when the sun pops out, the column acts as a huge sundial.

Note: Other than the huge sundial, you'll find a huge supermarket there, a tourist office and a bank where you withdraw your much needed $.

It must have been about 8am in the morning when Liz and I finally arrived in Trondheim from Bodo. We had a good night's rest on board the train and after a heavy breakfast, we were raring to explore the little university of Trondheim. All we needed to do was to get back to the train station by 7pm to board the next train to Oslo. Join us on a little tour as we uncovered the nooks and crannies of this little place. Our first point of exploration was the town square or the Torvet.

Note:Our hefty backpacks were stashed in the big lockers in Trondheim train station.

Olav Trygvason was born in Russia, baptised in England and then sailed to Norway to gather the country as one, christianise it and bring it in to a modern age.

For most norwegians he was a big hero that unfortunately got killed in the battle of Stiklestad. He was almost possesed by the christianity, and saw every one who wasn't christian as hedens.

In the mainplaza in Trondheim there is a big statue of him. Here he is portrayed when he had to choose between the sword (death) or a beacon (symbolising christianity). His grusomness and will of tortur makes his friends turn away from him, and he gives the swedish queen a slap in the face with his glow. After this both the swedish and danish kings turned away from him too.

His megalomania finally drives him to his death. In Svolder he thought he could gather Norway, Sweden and Denmark as one christian empire, but is surprised by an ambush that leads to his death.

Check out the statue of the founder of Trondheim,King Olav Tryggvason. It's actually a giant clock!
The square is sometimes closed for concerts,like Bob Dylan & Joe Cocker. Over 20 000 spectators! There'a also a giant outdoors market once a year.