Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway

Nidaros Cathedral (Nidaros Domkirke), Bispegata, Trondheim, Norveška

Website of the Sanctuary

+47 73 89 08 00

Everday from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm (4.00 pm Sunday)

10 Tips for a Successful Visit of the Nidaros Cathedral

Nidaros Cathedral, or Nidaros Cathedral, the St. Olav’s grave church, pilgrimage, signing church – and Norway’s national shrine.

Here are some tips to ensure you get the most out of your visit to the Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace:

  1. Combo ticket to Nidaros Cathedral, Royal Regalia Museum and Archbishop’s Palace.
  2. Attend a tour.
  3. Buy a guidebook.
  4. Attend special tours.
  5. Join towers rise (June to August).
  6. Bask on Cafe Two Towers.
  7. Attend the noon prayer (daily at. 12:15).
  8. Listen to an organ meditation.
  9. See the exhibition on 2 levels on Lavetthuset.
  10. Catch the highlights in Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace, Gabriel Kielland’s stained glass windows, organs, western front with its 75 sculptures, octagon, Olav’s well, original statues in Archbishop’s Palace Museum and crowns in Royal Regalia.

Nidaros Cathedral

Archbishop’s Palace Museum

  • Monday Closed
  • Tue – Fr: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
  • Saturday 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
  • Sunday 12:00 to 4:00 pm

Coming to Trondheim and having the best stay:

    • Compare prices of hotels in Trondheim, or view hotel deals at the bottom of the page that we have for you.
    • Find cheap flights to Trondheim. Trondheim Airport Værnes is just 32 kilometres north-east of the city. You can make easy connections to Trondheim from anywhere in Europe. Widerøe has daily flights from/to Copenhagen and Stockholm. KLM has daily flights from/to Amsterdam, and Norwegian flies directly to London, Prague and Murcia. There are more than 40 daily flights to/from Norway’s capital, Oslo, and excellent connections both to western and northern Norway.
    • Here is a selection of Travel guides for Trondheim.

Guides and tours in Norway:

Royal Regalia

      • Monday Closed
      • Tue – Fr: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
      • Saturday :11:00 am to 3:00 pm
      • Sunday: 12:00 to 4:00 pm

Nidaros Cathedral

After years in England and France the chief viking Olav Haraldsson became baptized in Rouen in Normandy in 1014, in 1015 he returned to Norway with a call to unite the country into one Christian kingdom.

On 29 July 1030, King Olav was killed in the Battle of Stiklestad. After his death miracles happened both on the battlefield and around King’s grave in Nidaros. The following year, Olav therefore was declared sacred, and at the place Olav was buried in Nidaros a small wooden church was erected.

Nidaros Cathedral

The Church of Our Lady

Our Lady has always been the city’s own church. All of the features – from chandeliers to organ and collectives shaker in cast iron – were made in Trondheim and donated to the church from the city’s residents. The church is hiding many little stories.

St. Olav

St. Olav’s Shrine was the resting place of the earthly remains of St. Olav, Norway’s patron saint, behind the high altar of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway, from the mid 11th century. F

Choose from a variety of T-shirts - See more...

or nearly five centuries the shrine was of major religious value to Norway and the other Nordic countries, and also to other parts of Northern Europe. St. Olav’s Shrine opens and closes the Middle Ages as an historic period in Norway.

See Top 15 Catholic shrines around the world.

See other European shrines and basilicas. 

The shrine consisted of three shrines, the one covering the other, and was the most important and by far the most valuable object in Norway in the Middle Ages. After the Lutheran reformation in 1536–1537, the valuable parts of St. Olav’s Shrine was destroyed by Danish authorities.

Since 1568 St. Olav’s earthly remains have been resting in an unknown grave, in Nidaros Cathedral or in the cathedral cemetery.

Silver hearts

In 1742 got Lauritsalan Lund, who was a priest in the Church of Our Lady, made two flaming hearts of silver as a declaration of love to his wife.

The hearts look at the altar of Our Lady’s Church. Looking closely you can also see monogram with the couple’s initials. Goldsmith Moller, the city’s oldest jeweler in his shop in Munkegata 3, is selling jewelry and needles shaped like hearts from the altar.

Nidaros Cathedral

Cobblestone Alter

City Mission cobblestone shrine will now after the restoration be moved from the space under the gallery to the front of the church. The altar is placed as a symbol of the care it has for the city’s population.

Baptismal bowl

In 1694 Peter Dreyer and his wife donated a døpefat in silver to Our Lady’s Church. The dish is decorated with exclusively German text, but should be made in Trondheim. Many a trondhjemmer’s were baptized in this historic Baptismal bowl.

Light Krona

The largest chandelier in Our Lady’s church was bestowed as a gift after the fire in 1651 in which was the cucrh totally burned. The very wealthy widow of Peder Mortensson Grumb, Kristine Nielsdatter, donated the chandelier in 1652. Looking up at the premier chandelier in church, you can read that it is given “For Godss honor”

Episcopal Head

On each side of the gothic portal of the choir’s south wall stands a head – one imagines a bishop and the other a king.

They were carved around 1220 and symbolize the church and monarchy equally powerful at the time. Just below them, on the wall – metal cross which the faithful kissed before they entered the church.

Nidaros Cathedral

Burial cellar

Under the church is a network of grave cellars. Dig cellars were mainly built after a fire in 1681, and in the period from 1681 to 1805 was the tomb set over a hundred coffins.

The city’s rich and powerful families paid to be laid to rest here, which became an important source of income for the church. Over the past two hundred years, the vault rooms have been remodeled and partially destroyed in connection with the building of heating plants. Several coffins were taken out of the basement and gjenbegravd, the rest were stacked in one of the vault rooms.

In recent times it has been carried out a cleaning and inspection of the grave material in the basement. The remaining chests are currently placed in shelves.

Stein Hogger Marks

In the medieval part of the church – choir and eastern half of the ship – many of the fine hewn soapstone mark of the stone sculptor who created the stones early 1200s.

The same brands are also at the cathedral, and shows that workers came from farm hut there. The most common is a five-pointed star – a pentagram. The reason for labeling is probably remuneration for work.

Grunnsteinen

On the east side of the chancel, a meter above the ground, is the church’s “cornerstone” with an inscription in old Norwegian with Gothic letters .: HIN HELGHA MARIA À MIK – Biorn SIGNARSSON GER E MIK (THE HOLY MARIA OWNER MYSELF – Made by BJØRN SIGNARSSON). Bjorn was probably the builder which funded the work. Such inscriptions are very unusual in Norway.

How to get there

Situated in central Norway, Trondheim is easily accessible whatever your choice of transportation.

by train
Trondheim has train connections to Stockholm, Sweden and of course to both the northern and southern parts of Norway with several daily departures/arrivals.

InterRail Norway Pass
Takes you to the highlights of Norway like Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim

Eurail Norway Pass
Entitles you to train travel through Norway

by boat
Hurtigruten, or the coastal express, the famous shipping line between Bergen and Kirkenes, calls at Trondheim harbour every day of the year, both on its northbound and southbound journeys. Hurtigruten – The Norwegian Coastal Voyage

by Bus
There is an express bus service to/from Bergen and Oslo every day, departing from and arriving at Trondheim Central Station, which is also the centre for all the district buses.

View hotel deals in Trondheim:



Booking.com

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

10 Tips for a Successful Visit

Here are some tips to ensure you get the most out of your visit to the Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace:

  1. Buy combo ticket to Nidaros Cathedral, Royal Regalia Museum and Archbishop’s Palace.
  2. Attend a tour.
  3. Buy a guidebook.
  4. Attend special tours.
  5. Join towers rise (June to August).
  6. Bask on Cafe Two Towers.
  7. Attend the noon prayer (daily at. 12:15).
  8. Listen to an organ meditation.
  9. See the exhibition on 2 levels on Lavetthuset.
  10. Catch the highlights in Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace, Gabriel Kielland’s stained glass windows, organs, western front with its 75 sculptures, octagon, Olav’s well, original statues in Archbishop’s Palace Museum and crowns in Royal Regalia.

Archbishop’s Palace Museum

  • Monday Closed
  • Tue – Fr: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
  • Saturday 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
  • Sunday 12:00 to 4:00 pm

Royal Regalia

  • Monday Closed
  • Tue – Fr: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
  • Saturday :11:00 am to 3:00 pm
  • Sunday: 12:00 to 4:00 pm

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Situated in central Norway, Trondheim is easily accessible whatever your choice of transportation.

Trondheim Airport By air
Trondheim Airport Værnes is just 32 kilometres north-east of the city. You can make easy connections to Trondheim from anywhere in Europe. Widerøe has daily flights from/to Copenhagen and Stockholm. KLM has daily flights from/to Amsterdam, and Norwegian flies directly to London, Prague and Murcia. There are more than 40 daily flights to/from Norway’s capital, Oslo, and excellent connections both to western and northern Norway.

By train
Trondheim has train connections to Stockholm, Sweden and of course to both the northern and southern parts of Norway with several daily departures/arrivals.

InterRail Norway Pass
Takes you to the highlights of Norway like Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim

Eurail Norway Pass
Entitles you to train travel through Norway

By boat
Hurtigruten, or the coastal express, the famous shipping line between Bergen and Kirkenes, calls at Trondheim harbour every day of the year, both on its northbound and southbound journeys. Hurtigruten – The Norwegian Coastal Voyage

By Bus
There is an express bus service to/from Bergen and Oslo every day, departing from and arriving at Trondheim Central Station, which is also the centre for all the district buses.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Regular worship services in Nidaros Cathedral

  • Sunday at 11:00 
  • Sunday 18:00 Evening Mass – in cooperation with the Student Congregation and Anglican church.

Regular church services in Church of Our Lady

  • Tuesdays at 14:00 
  • Thursdays at 18:30 Thursday Mass
  • 1 Friday of the month at 19.00 Liturgy at Open church group

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Nidaros Cathedral

Nidaros Cathedral, or Nidaros Cathedral, the St. Olav’s grave church, pilgrimage, signing church – and Norway’s national shrine.

After years in England and France the chief viking Olav Haraldsson became baptized in Rouen in Normandy in 1014, in 1015 he returned to Norway with a call to unite the country into one Christian kingdom. On 29 July 1030, King Olav was killed in the Battle of Stiklestad. After his death miracles happened both on the battlefield and around King’s grave in Nidaros. The following year, Olav therefore was declared sacred, and at the place Olav was buried in Nidaros a small wooden church was erected.

The Church of Our Lady

Our Lady has always been the city’s own church. All of the features – from chandeliers to organ and collectives shaker in cast iron – were made in Trondheim and donated to the church from the city’s residents. The church is hiding many little stories.

Silver hearts
In 1742 got Lauritsalan Lund, who was a priest in the Church of Our Lady, made two flaming hearts of silver as a declaration of love to his wife. The hearts look at the altar of Our Lady’s Church. Looking closely you can also see monogram with the couple’s initials. Goldsmith Moller, the city’s oldest jeweler in his shop in Munkegata 3, is selling jewelry and needles shaped like hearts from the altar.

Cobblestone Alter
City Mission cobblestone shrine will now after the restoration be moved from the space under the gallery to the front of the church. The altar is placed as a symbol of the care it has for the city’s population.

Baptismal bowl
In 1694 Peter Dreyer and his wife donated a døpefat in silver to Our Lady’s Church. The dish is decorated with exclusively German text, but should be made in Trondheim. Many a trondhjemmer’s were baptized in this historic Baptismal bowl.

Light Krona
The largest chandelier in Our Lady’s church was bestowed as a gift after the fire in 1651 in which was the cucrh totally burned. The very wealthy widow of Peder Mortensson Grumb, Kristine Nielsdatter, donated the chandelier in 1652. Looking up at the premier chandelier in church, you can read that it is given “For Godss honor”

Episcopal Head
On each side of the gothic portal of the choir’s south wall stands a head – one imagines a bishop and the other a king. They were carved around 1220 and symbolize the church and monarchy equally powerful at the time. Just below them, on the wall – metal cross which the faithful kissed before they entered the church.

Choose from a variety of T-shirts - See more...

Burial cellar
Under the church is a network of grave cellars. Dig cellars were mainly built after a fire in 1681, and in the period from 1681 to 1805 was the tomb set over a hundred coffins. The city’s rich and powerful families paid to be laid to rest here, which became an important source of income for the church. Over the past two hundred years, the vault rooms have been remodeled and partially destroyed in connection with the building of heating plants. Several coffins were taken out of the basement and gjenbegravd, the rest were stacked in one of the vault rooms. In recent times it has been carried out a cleaning and inspection of the grave material in the basement. The remaining chests are currently placed in shelves.

Stein Hogger Marks
In the medieval part of the church – choir and eastern half of the ship – many of the fine hewn soapstone mark of the stone sculptor who created the stones early 1200s. The same brands are also at the cathedral, and shows that workers came from farm hut there. The most common is a five-pointed star – a pentagram. The reason for labeling is probably remuneration for work.

Grunnsteinen
On the east side of the chancel, a meter above the ground, is the church’s “cornerstone” with an inscription in old Norwegian with Gothic letters .: HIN HELGHA MARIA À MIK – Biorn SIGNARSSON GER E MIK (THE HOLY MARIA OWNER MYSELF – Made by BJØRN SIGNARSSON). Bjorn was probably the builder which funded the work. Such inscriptions are very unusual in Norway.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Posted in Europe and Norway