Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Throndhjem

THRONDHJEM, or Trondhjem (Drontheim), the third town of Norway, capital of the Throndhjem stift and of the South Throndhjem amt, is pleasantly situated on the southern shore of the Throndhjem fjord, at the mouth of the Nid, 348 miles by rail to the north of Christiania, in 63 25 52" N. lat. and 10 33 19" E. long. In front of the town is the islet of Munkholm, formerly a monastery and now a fortress; on the high ground to the east is the small stronghold of Christiansten. The houses of Throndhjem, principally of wood, are substantial, spacious, and well lighted; and the streets are wide, regular, and scrupulously clean. The principal building is the cathedral, partly dating from about 1090, but chiefly belonging to the 12th and 13th centuries (c. 1161-1248). Its extreme length was 325 feet and its extreme breadth 124 feet; but in the 14th, 15th, and 17th centuries it suffered greatly from repeated fires; after the last of these the nave was completely abandoned, and soon became a heap of ruins. The building, which still ranks as the finest ecclesiastical edifice in Norway, and is the place of coronation of the Norwegian sovereigns, is now undergoing extensive but judicious restoration. The workmanship of its eastern windows and of the marble or steatite columns of the choir is specially noteworthy. Throndhjem possesses three churches in all, and among its other public buildings may be mentioned the residences of the stiftsamtmand and the bishop, the grammar school, the real school, the head office of the Bank of Norway, the deaf and dumb institute, the hospital, and the theatre. It is the seat of the royal Norwegian scientific society, in connexion with which are an excellent library and a good zoological and antiquarian museum. Throndhjem, which has steamboat communication with Christiania, Hamburg, and Hull, and is connected with Sweden by the Meraker Railway (63 miles), carries on an extensive trade in copper (from the Roros mines), timber, oil, and dried and salted fish; the industries include shipbuilding, sawmilling, distilling, tanning, rope-making, and ribbon-making. The population in 1875 was 22,152; in 1885 it was estimated at 24,000.

Throndhjem, originally Nidaros, was founded by Olaf Tryggvason, who built a royal residence and a church here in 996. It was made an archbishopric in 1152. The city attained its highest development about the latter half of the 13th century, by which time it had become an important pilgrimage centre and had as many as fifteen churches. It has sustained frequent sieges, as well as devastating conflagrations. Its importance declined about the time of the Reformation, when it ceased to be a resort of pilgrims. At the beginning of the present century its inhabitants numbered only 8832.