Trolberg

**Trolberg** is a walled city with a Scandinavian appearance, appearing in all incarnations of the Hilda-franchise (graphic novels, animated series and tie-in books).

It becomes the primary setting of the story after Hilda and Johanna move here at the end of "Hilda and the Midnight Giant" / "Chapter 2: The Midnight Giant" respectively.

## History

Trolberg started as a small village that grew in population.

In "Chapter 5: The Troll Rock", Principal Magnusson mentions that the school's founder, Edmund Ahlberg, was also one of the great founders of the city. That would mean Trolberg is at most 300 years old. This is further backed up by "Hilda and the Bird Parade", in which a newspaper claims that years Bird Parade is the 256th anniversary. However, in "Chapter 3: The Bird Parade", a flashback about The Great Raven's first visit to Trolberg suggests humans have been living in the area for longer than that. This in turn is backed up by "Hilda's World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond", which mentions the first humans settled in the area of Trolberg around 1500 years ago. The novel "Hilda and the Great Parade" mentions that Trolberg was founded 600 years ago. In "Chapter 1: The Troll Circle", the Peg legged sailor claims that the bell in the harbor of Trolberg hasn't rung in 300 to 400 years.

The City was build right in the middle of land that originally belonged to Trolls, on top of the ground under which the gigantic troll Amma slept. To keep trolls and other dangerous creatures out, a giant wall was built around the entire city and surrounding land on orders of Edmund Ahlberg. The construction of the city drove away several other creatures as well, like the Lindworms, Red Wolves, and Deerfoxes.

In the early days of the city, the settlement was visited by The Great Raven, who was mistaken for a messenger of the god worshiped by the first inhabitants of Trolberg. This started the tradition of the annual Bird Parade.

Trolberg has been an important seaport for hundreds of years. In older times sailors from all over the world would come here to trade spices, silk and other goods for lingenberries, blue pine wood and bells. Today the harbor is mostly used for ferries carrying tourists and commuters.

Up until 200 years ago, the people of Trolberg used to dump their waste on the streets or in the river, resulting in stinky smog engulfing the city on hot days. The Trolberg Safety Patrol thus built the city's state-of-the-art sewer system to address this problem.

In the animated series, at some point the exiled Elves of the Bragga Family took up residence within the walls of Trolberg, building their own village near a crack in the wall.

## Topography

### General

Trolberg is surrounded on three sides by a huge wall. The only exception is the bay area at a fjord called the Björgfjord. The maps of Trolberg seen in the Graphic Novels and the tie-in books depict this bay at the south side of the city, but the maps seen in the animated series, *Hilda's Book of Beasts and Spirits* and *Hilda's World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond* depict it on the north side instead.

According to a map seen in "Chapter 6: The Old Bells of Trolberg", there are 9 bell towers build into the wall. According to "Hilda and the Time Worm", there are 42 bell towers overall in Trolberg.

Aside from the urban area. There is also a forest next to the city called the Huldrawood, though it's size and it's exact location within or outside the city walls differs between the animated series and the graphic novels.

A river called the River Björg flows through the city to the fjord. The exact course of this river varies between the various maps seen in the graphic novels, animated series and tie-in books.

The bay contains several islands, including a small one where one of the last remaining Lindworms lives.

There are two mountains on opposing sites of Trolberg called Mt. Hár and Mr. Halldór respectively.

### Infrastructure

* Trolberg has a harbor at the fjord.
* There are busses in the city for public transport.
* A railroad line crosses the city. Like with the river, the exact course varies between the Hilda media.
* Fifty years ago, Trolberg had it's own streetcart. It is unknown if this streetcar still exists in the time the series is set.

## Anthem

In "Chapter 6: The Old Bells of Trolberg", it is revealed Trolberg has it's own anthem. Only the first few lines can be heard:

*Here in old Trolberg, meet the snowy mountain peaks*
*Together we stay safe with our friends and family*

## Festivals

The city has multiple festivals throughout the year:

* Bird Parade (all continuities)
* The Night of the Trolls (graphic novels and movie)
* Trolberg Winter Festival (animated series + tie-in novels)

## Gallery

Map of Trolberg as seen in "Hilda and the Bird Parade".Map of Trolberg as seen in "Hilda and the Nowhere Space"Map of Trolberg and surrounding area from *Hilda's Book of Beasts and Spirits*Map of Trolberg as seen in "Hilda's World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond".City gateTrolberg seen from the bell towerTrolberg seen from the skyMap of the belltowersTrolberg in ancient timesMap
## Trivia

* Due to the danger that Trolls pose to humans, the city of Trolberg has strict rules against bringing a Troll Rock into the city. According to David, purposely bringing a troll rock into Trolberg is punishable with 50 years in prison, and doing it by accident is good for 100 years, since they really don't want people to do this by accident. (It is unknown if this is true, or some kind of playground rumour intended to discourage children from bringing Trolls into the city)
* Since 1892, there is a law that states all bell towers in the city must be equiped with working bells.
* Trolberg has a special task force, the Trolberg Safety Patrol, for dealing with creatures that got into the city. In the graphic novels and animated series, they are the only form of law enforcement seen. The novelization however mentions a Trolberg police force.
* Trolberg has at least two newspaper: the Trolberg Daily and The Oracle.
* Trolberg is heavily inspired by various locations in Norway.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hilda's World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond, page 38
2. ↑ Hilda's World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond, page 34
3. ↑ Hilda's World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond, page 17