Enjoy a photographic tour of Trondheim, the biggest city in central Norway and a former centre of power in the Viking Age.
Welcome to Trondheim. My home since 2013, Trondheim is a city that I've slowly gotten to know and love over time. While not as visually famous as Bergen or the fjords, Trondheim is nevertheless a very photogenic place.
Within Norway, people know Trondheim as a centre for education and technology. Other quirky Trondheim facts include the city's status as a home for many of Norway's Olympic skiers.
Over the years I've built up quite a collection of photographs in and around the city, documenting life here in central Norway. In this article, I'll share many of them to give you an insight into what living in Trondheim is like. Enjoy!
Nidaros cathedral
A real icon of the city and the country as a whole, Nidaros cathedral draws huge numbers of people from all over the world. It's the end point of the St. Olav's Ways hiking trails and home of the annual Olavsdagene festival.
The sculpture-laden west front is the most eye-catching part of the cathedral. Restored by a large team of sculptures from 1905 to 1983, the facade is truly spectacular. It was the largest art project in the history of Norway. Renovations and maintenance continue today.
It's well worth a visit inside the cathedral. Best value is the combination ticket that also gives you access to the neighbouring museum and royal regalia.
Inside the cathedral, look out for the octagonal shrine, two altars, medieval chapter house and the collection of marble gravestones down in the crypt.
Nidelva river
While the cathedral is the city's most famous landmark, it's really the river that defines Trondheim. As you can see from the drone image at the top of the page, the Nidelva almost entirely cuts off the city centre.
This means there are plenty of vantage points of the river throughout the city centre. By far the most famous is the delightful old town bridge. From here you get a great view of the river and the fantastic architecture of the wooden riverside buildings.
The river winds around the downtown area and walking paths line parts of the route. One of Trondheim's marked urban hiking paths covers many of these central riverside paths.
Bakklandet
Across the old town bridge, the Bakklandet neighbourhood is known for its cobbled streets and coffee shops. In the early 1980s, much of the area was saved from demolition as a planned highway was cancelled.
On a summer's day, Bakklandet is packed with locals and tourists enjoying a coffee, snack or meal in one of the many cafes and restaurants.
The forest of Trondheim
On some weekends, downtown Trondheim can feel surprisingly quiet. One of the reasons is that many locals head to the hiking trails of the city forest, Bymarka. In the winter, those same trails are popular with keen cross-country skiers.
Many people make their way up to the forest on the tram from St. Olav's gate in the city centre. On weekends, buses run to a different part of the forest.
Downtown Trondheim
Time to get back to the city centre. The central square Torvet has been renovated in recent years and is now a great public space.
At its centre where Munkegata and Kongens gate meet, the 18 metre high statue of city founder Olav Tryggvason watches out over the city.
Just steps away from the shopping malls, you'll find some charming old cobbled streets lined with wooden houses.
At one point, this is what almost all Trondheim would have looked like. Numerous city fires eventually led to wider avenues like Munkegata being created to prevent the spread of future fires.
NTNU
If you say Trondheim to a Norwegian, chances are they will immediately think of NTNU. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology to give it its full name in English is highly regarded throughout the country.
It's hard to explain just how dominant NTNU is in Trondheim. While the main campus is located just south of the city centre at Gløshaguen, there are NTNU-related facilities all over the city.
Trondheim in the winter
Most of the photos here show Trondheim in the summer or autumn. But for a few months every year, Trondheim usually wears a white coat. Sometimes it's a dusting, other times we get a lot more.
For more photos and information on what to expect, check out this article on Trondheim in the winter.
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Trondheim through a camera lens!
I loved my time in Trondheim when I was there for the dedication of the Leif Ercison statue at the harbor. It was a wonderful way to honor my father with his name inscribed at the base of the statue.
My favorite of the many great places I seen was the Nidaros Cathedral. I could have spent many days in there, it is a truly awesome place.
I love Trondheim, too. I first got interested in it for its WWII history and wrote a couple of novels set there, but around 5 years ago, I went to Trondheim and stayed for around 12 days doing research. Though I started off at the Youth Hostel, I was very lucky and ended up with a home stay with the cousin of a friend. I have fallen in love with the town. All those places you’ve shown I got to know very well–the Bymarka, Bakklandet, Nidros. I went to Sunday service so had a chance to be at the high alter for communion. Really wonderful. I tell people to go to Trondheim first, then take the train to Oslo. that’s another wonderful part of Norway to see as you go over the Dovre.