The Topeka state journal., 1906-06-22
THE ANCTENT CAPITAL.
Where All the Kings of Norway Have
Been Crowned.


kings of Norway may be called the /
cradle Of the Morse nation. It is first
mentioned in history, before there was
a united Norway, in connection with
Harold, the Fair Haired, who conquered
all the petty kings of the Morse counties |
and united them into a single state un- |
Ger his own crown in the latter part
Of the ninth century But it did not
attain first Importance in the kingdom
until Haakon the Good was crowned
there in 935 amid the joyful acclanla-
tons OF the people who had successful l
" rebelled against the cruel tyranny
of Erek Blood-axe and his despotic
wire, queen Gunhild- Since then all the
kings OF Norway of Whatever nation
allEy they might be have had to travel
to this far away city for the ceremony
or inVestiture. The King HaakOn OF
today owes his name to the first good
king of an united and independent
Norway and the little crown prince be-
comes the namesake OF his first legfti-
mate successor, the great Olaf Tryg-
SVesson, who was crowned in 995. Up
to that time Trondhjem was less a ma
t1onal capital than the mere stronghold
OF an important province but in 1896
Olaf Tryggvesson laid the foundation
OF the present city which he then called
Nideros. Il is the northernmost town
of any Importance in Europe being sit
uated in the same latitude as the south
coast of Iceland but II has a strongly
temperate climate. While Christiania
part of Norway become solidly frozen
during the winter. the River Md rare
" freezes over and the beautiful
Trondhjem Fjord never. The climate is
like that of middle Germany in winter
and much like that of the coast of Ore
gon in summer Hence the luxurious
vegetation and the resultant prosperity
of the people
tinguished as being the first Christian
sovereign Of Norway. He was sent by
his father to England in his childhood
and there he became a convert to the
faith and was baptized. Upon his re-
turn to Norway and his accession to
his fathers throne he did not dare to
Immediately attack the ancient Asa
faith which had SO many fauatical adj
herents among his closest friends SO he
temporized for some 16 years or more
until he had won such unbounded pop
ularity as seemed Ito warrant his TAX
ing steps toward the realization of the
wish nearest his heart-the Christianf-
zation of his people. He began well but
he did not possess the cruelty of zeal
that was necessary for the accomplish
ment of such a task in that age so he
only succeeded in opening the way for
his more vigorous successor. Olaf
Tryggvesson who introduced the fire
and sword into the fight with a great
measure of success But even he failed
to completely eradicate paganism from
the national heart and it was only after
his successor. by his wife and more
particularly by his death had appealed
to the ready imagination of the Morse
men that Christianity really became
the established religion of the country.
This great missionary was King Olaf
I HarOldson who was afterWard canon
lied as st. Olaf and over whose sacred
remains the great cathedral in Tronh-
/ jern arose.
This cathedraIsds the proudest his
I tortcal monument IN Norway and the
finest church in all Scandinavia. ST
~ 41--
/ of Stiklested in 1890 and his son and
successor, Magnus the Good, brought
| his body to Trondhjem and placed if In
ma gnificent sarcophagus on the high
altar of st. Clements church, where
| it became an object of devout pilgrim
ages from al over the country. Even
| tually the cathedral and some fifteen
or twenty other churches were built
upon the strength of the faith he had
created, and even in Protestant Nor
way today his name is revered above
all others.
In 1851 Trondhjem was erected into
an archbishopric and a new impulse
was given to ecclesiastical building
enterprise. At this time the great
| Archbishop Fsystein the third of
/ Trondhjem, quarreled with the king
and fed to England. where he re-
mained for three years. He returned
| full of religious zeal and ambitious
plans for his own national capital and
/
the present transept of the cathedral,
a graceful central tower the chapter
house, all in the style of the late
Romanesque period. His successor
finished the magnificent choir and the
| octagonal apse that covered the relics
of St. Olaf and from that time the
building grew through all sorts of ex-
/ uberent imaginings which left upon it
traces of the splendor of the early
| Gothic period mingled with the class
4.aT-
to create a monument of absolute
/ beauty
1t has been repeatedly damaged by
! fire and the elem ents, but is now in
! the hands of deVoutly careful re-
/ StOrers. The great central tower with
it's four corner turrets was not com
! pleted until 1901, and it is a matter
| of great regret to the NOrWegians
that the other restorations have not
been completed in time for today 8
ceremonies. Indeed it will be decades
before the restoration is completed.
but the work goes steadily on, fund
of 1000 kroner per annum being
provided by the state.
There is no royal palace in Trond-
| hjen and during the coronation fes-
tivities the royal family viii use the
residence of the stiftsamtnand, the
governor of the province This stands
in the center of the city near the great
market place, where the people gather
/ dailv in a picturesque throng to buy
and sell the produce of the country
and the ford. The town in ordinary
times is really little more than a fish,
ing village, although it does contain
3S,0 600 inhabitants.
The chief industry of the place is
salmon fishing and salmon is the prin-
cipal article OF food in the province.
Although the salmon is probably the
finest in the world, the least partic-
ular traveller is liable to lose his appe-
for &
fast, lunch. dinner and supper and be-
tween meals if he should happen to be
hungry. The town where it hugs the
shore of the ford is most picturesque.