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St. Olav's shrine

Buildings and structures in TrondheimRoman Catholic shrines

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. For nearly five centuries the shrine was of major religious importance 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 a historic period in Norway. 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 were 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.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article St. Olav's shrine (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

St. Olav's shrine
Vestfrontplassen, Trondheim Midtbyen

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Wikipedia: St. Olav's shrineContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 63.427 ° E 10.3969 °
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Address

Nidarosdomen

Vestfrontplassen
7013 Trondheim, Midtbyen
Norway
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Phone number
Kirkelig fellesråd i Trondheim

call+4773890800

Website
Nidarosdomen.no

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Nidaros Cathedral West Front
Nidaros Cathedral West Front

The Nidaros Cathedral West Front (Nidarosdomens Vestfront), which includes multiple sculptures, was the final portion of the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway that was restored. Nidaros Cathedral is the world's northernmost medieval cathedral and Norway's national sanctuary. The West Front is the cathedral's main facade and one of the most beautiful and ornate portions of the church. The restoration of the West Front took from 1905 to 1983 and was worked on by a large number of sculptors. In 1869, the Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Workshop was founded with the purpose of restoring the Cathedral, and celebrated a 150 years Anniversary in 2019. A picture of the West Front from 1661 shows extensive deterioration, with only the bottom sections left standing. Only five statues from the Middle Ages have survived. The restoration of the West Front took from 1905 to 1983 and was worked on by a large number of sculptors. The largest church bell in Norway hangs in the West Front's north tower. Installed in 1964, it weighs 2,400 kg, and people say that it can be heard in Melhus, all of 30 km away, when the wind is in the right direction. The church has three bells. The 'Great Bell' is the oldest and was cast in Hoorn in the Netherlands in 1751. This part of the church is also the most recent of the original cathedral constructions; archbishop Sigurd Eindrideson laid the cornerstone for the west front in 1248. The construction was not yet complete when the church was burnt in 1328. The original design for the west face is not known, but one can assume that it was never built to those original plans; it is reasonable to assume that a screen front similar to that used elsewhere was planned on the west. Screen fronts were often rectangular and served as a cover to conceal the rest of the church. English cathedrals from the same period, among others Lincoln Cathedral, Wells Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral, had similar fronts. The west front had three entrances and is flanked by two smaller towers on each side of the façade.

Nordenfjells

Nordenfjells or Nordafjells ("North of the Mountains") is currently a name for the area of Norway north of mountain range of Dovrefjell. The term is largely used when referring collectively to Central Norway and Northern Norway. Until around 1800 the name also included all of Western Norway. The largest city is Trondheim, with the Trondheim Region having a population of 260,000. Historically, an administrative division of Norway in Sønnenfjells and Nordenfjells has been used from the Middle Ages until around 1800. The border between the two regions was a range from Åna-Sira or Lindesnes, northwards along Langfjella and Dovrefjell. What is today known as Western Norway (Vestlandet) was defined as part of Nordenfjells. The notion of Western Norway was introduced in the 1800s. Erik Pontoppidan was one of the first to use the notion of vestenfields (west of the mountains) as distinct part of Nordenfjells. Pontoppidan observed the notable differences in climate between east and west. Later William Thrane wrote that western Norway included most of Christiansand dicose (Agder, Rogaland and western Telemark). Hans Strøm used the old distinction where «nordenfjells» included western Norway. Christopher Hansteen travelled across Hardangervidda in 1821 and observed that his compassed apparently had a 90° deviation: People in Eastern Norway said they traveled "north" to Hardanger and people from the west were known as "nordmenn". Christian Magnus Falsen in 1822 used Vestlandet about Agder and Jæren. Ivar Aasen's dictionary from 1850 og 1873 use vestlending og Vestlandet as these names are used today.Norge (Norway) and nordmenn in the Middle Ages were names for the coastal areas from Agder to Hålogaland, and the people there. Ohthere of Hålogaland used these names in his report to King Alfred in year 890. When the kingdom expanded the old labels nordmenn and nordenfjells were still used about the coastal/fjord areas in the west while the eastern areas, Østlandet, were inhabited by austmenn (eastern men).