Historical and cultural context
St. Olav Ways are leading to Nidaros (the former name of Trondheim) and to the Nidaros Cathedral which is the shrine of the Norwegian patron Saint Olav. As St. Olav during the middle ages was a popular saint, there are many historical, medieval pathways leading through various European countries up to Trondheim.
The Norse king Olav Haraldsson (St. Olav) was born in the South of Norway in the year 995 and martyred at Stiklestad (close to Trondheim) July 29th 1030. During his lifetime he became a significant political leader at European level, working in alliance with the earls of Normandy and the English kings among others, sometimes in line with other Norse kings and other times fighting them. One of his great allied was his brother in law, the Russian prince Jaroslav. Olav’s great idea was to unite Norway into one Christian kingdom. This brought him to the battle at Stiklestad where he was killed. One year later he was declared a saint by the bishop Grimkjell, who originally came from England, and the pilgrimages to his shrine started immediately. There are a lot of churches, chapels and altars dedicated to St. Olav around in Europe. The most remarkable sign is the oldest St. Olav icon that we know of, from around 1160, may be even earlier, which is to be found on one of the pillars of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, next to the pillar of the Danish St. Knut.
After the Lutheran reformation (in Denmark/Norway 1536 – 1537) pilgrimages were prohibited in all Lutheran countries. During the second half of the 20th century the pilgrim tradition was taken up again.
On this background we are now having a vivid work on the signposting, clearing up and maintaining all the historical paths leading to Nidaros. Historical and ideological work is ongoing and different kinds of ecumenical, inter-faith and intercultural dialogs have developed on the basis of the pilgrimage idea. Varied spectrums of touristic products are following and many academics, professionals and volunteers are engaged in different aspects of the pilgrimage and the heritage of St Olav.
Modern pilegrimages
During the 1980s the interest in pilgrimages increased both in Norway and Sweden. Even if there were other small destinations, the main goal for them all was the Nidaros Cathedral with its history as the northernmost pilgrim place in the Christian hemisphere. Towards the end of the 1990s it was decided to signpost the route from Oslo through Gudbrandalen valley and the route from Sweden via Stiklestad, a total distance of 930 km. The initiative was taken at governmental level by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Norway and involved county administrations, local administrations, as well as the Churches, different associations and a large number of volunteers.
The first official route was opened in July 1997 by the Norwegian Crown prince during a ceremony. By now around 2000 km pilgrim routes have been signposted in Norway. A Report/paper was commissioned in 2008 by The Norwegian Ministry of Church and Cultural Affairs.
Signposting of the St. Olav Ways Photo: Stein Thue
Nyheter
> Tilbud til konfirmanter 2012
Nidaros Pilegrimsgård ligger like ved Nidarosdomen og egner seg godt som overnattingssted for konfirmanter som besøker byen. Her kan du få rimelig overnatting for din konfirmantgruppe og vi kan også tilby en enkel matservering.
Vennligst ta kontakt med Cathrine Roncale, tel 73 52 50 00 e-post post@pilegrimsgarden.no
> Pilegrim på Romboleden 17.-27.7.12
Bli med på vandring langs den gamle pilegrimsvegen, fra høyfjell til
granskog, fra svenskegrensa til pilegrimshovedstaden Trondheim. Som
vandringsleder får du med deg teolog Jørg Kunzendorf, ekte
pilegrimsentusiast som gikk hele strekningen i 2006.> Hvem er den moderne pilegrimen - seminar 17.11.
I år har det vært en fantastisk pilegrimsommer, nærmere 600 pilegrimer
besøkte Nidaros Pilegrimsgård (NPG) for å få informasjon, sine pass
stemplet eller for å samtale med pilegrimspresten eller med de
frivillige som har stilt opp i sommer. Nidaros Pilegrimsgård har delt ut
ca 230 spørreskjemaer til pilegrimer for å kartlegge hvem er pilegrimen> Berit Lånke appointed as director for the National Pilgrimage Centre
Berit Lånke, the manager of Nidaros Pilgrim Centre, is appointed as director of the Temporary National Pilgrimage Centre. The centre is organized as a project under the Directorate of Cultural Heritage and will be established in Trondheim in 2011.
> Berit Lånke blir pilegrimsdirektør
Berit Lånke som har vært daglig leder ved Nidaros Pilegrimsgård siden mars 2009 forlater nå pilegrimsgården for å bli direktør av et midlertidig nasjonalt pilegrimssenter som skal etableres i Trondheim i 2011.