{{Short description|Cathedral in Trøndelag, Norway}} {{Expand Norwegian|topic=struct|Nidarosdomen|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox church | name = Nidarosdomen | full_name = Nidaros Cathedral | former_name = | image = Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, West view 20150605 1.jpg | caption = The church's west front, restored 1905–1983 | website = {{URL|nidarosdomen.no}} | coordinates = {{coord|63.4267|10.3962|region:NO_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | location = Trondheim, Trøndelag | country = Norway | churchmanship = Evangelical Lutheran | denomination = Church of Norway | previous_denomination = Roman Catholic | dedication = Holy Trinity | diocese = Nidaros bispedømme | deanery = Nidaros domprosti | parish = Nidaros og Vår Frue | status = Cathedral | functional_status = Active | founded = c. 1070 | consecrated = 1300 | completed = {{Start date and age|p=y|1300}} | closed = | events = | architect = Heinrich Ernst Schirmer<br />and Christian Christie | architectural_type = Long church | style = Romanesque and Gothic | materials = Soapstone | capacity = 1850 | embedded = {{Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site |embed = yes |Type = Church |Status = Automatically protected |ID = 85130 }} }}
'''Nidaros Cathedral''' ({{langx|no|Nidarosdomen / Nidaros domkirke}}) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of King Olav II ({{circa}} 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who brought Christianity to Norway and became the patron saint of the nation; the consecration of new Norwegian monarchs occurs at Nidaros Cathedral. It was built over a 230-year period, from 1070 to 1300 when it was substantially completed. However additional work, additions and renovations have continued intermittently since then, including a major reconstruction starting in 1869 and completed in 2001. Nidaros Cathedral is a popular place of Evangelical-Lutheran Christian pilgrimage, with several thousand pilgrims visiting it each year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vistad |first1=Odd Inge |last2=Øian |first2=Hogne |last3=Williams |first3=Daniel R. |last4=Stokowski |first4=Patricia |title=Long-distance hikers and their inner journeys: On motives and pilgrimage to Nidaros, Norway |journal=Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism |date=September 2020 |volume=31 |article-number=100326 |doi=10.1016/j.jort.2020.100326|hdl=11250/2684749 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Mass and the Divine Office, according to the Evangelical-Lutheran tradition, are celebrated daily at Nidaros Cathedral, in addition to other prayer services that are held there throughout the day.<ref name="Nidarosdomen2026"/>
In 1152, the church was designated as the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros. In 1537, during the Protestant Reformation, it became part of the newly established state Church of Norway (Evangelical-Lutheran). It is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nidaros Cathedral |url=https://trondheim.com/nidaros-cathedral |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230005029/http://www.trondheim.no/content.ap?thisId=631931 |archive-date=2014-12-30 |access-date=2014-12-30 |publisher=Trondheim kommune}}</ref>
The cathedral is the main church for the ''Nidaros og Vår Frue'' parish, the seat of the Nidaros domprosti (arch-deanery), and the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros. The Preses of the Church of Norway is also based at this cathedral. The church seats about 1,850 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nidaros domkirke |url=http://www.kirkesok.no/eng/kirker/Nidaros-domkirke |access-date=2018-03-17 |publisher=Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker |url=http://www.kirkekonsulenten.no/kirker.htm |access-date=2018-03-17 |publisher=KirkeKonsulenten.no |language=no}}</ref>
==History== thumb|left|The Cathedral in 1857 Nidaros Cathedral was built beginning in 1070 to memorialize the burial place of Olav II of Norway, the king who was killed in 1030 in the Battle of Stiklestad. He was canonized as Saint Olav a year later by Grimketel, the Bishop of Nidaros (the canonization was later confirmed by the pope{{efn| Grimketel initiated the beatification of Olaf on 3 August 1031. This was before the time of the formal canonization process now in use}}). Around 1070, King Olav Kyrre, who was St. Olav's nephew, began building a large stone church on the site where the wooden church had stood. It was dedicated to the Holy Trinity but was commonly called Kristkirken (an earlier term for cathedral). The altar in this church was to be placed over the grave, and when the church was completed around 1090, St. Olav's shrine was moved here and placed over the altar. In this church, almost all Norwegian royals of the 11th and 12th centuries were buried. Kristkirken was about 50 meters long with a choir, nave, and west tower, and it was the largest church in Norway at the time.
Nothing of Olav Kyrre's church is visible today. It was gradually replaced by new building parts in the 13th century, but its outline can be seen in the ground plan: as was often the case in the Middle Ages, the later walls were built on the old foundations to save time and costs. During the restoration in the late 19th century, these foundations were excavated and measured, providing some knowledge of the church's architecture.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-25 |title=Nidarosdomen |url=https://www.snl.no/Nidarosdomen |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Store norske leksikon |language=no}}</ref>
It was designated the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537 under the Reformation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nidaros Cathedral: The Symbol of a Nation (My Little Norway) |url=http://mylittlenorway.com/2008/11/nidaros-cathedral/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004093018/http://mylittlenorway.com/2008/11/nidaros-cathedral/ |archive-date=2011-10-04 |access-date=2009-06-21}}</ref>
Since the Reformation, it has served as the cathedral of the Lutheran bishops of Trondheim (or Nidaros) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The architectural style of the cathedral is Romanesque and Gothic. Historically it has been an important destination for pilgrims coming from all of Northern Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Nidaros Cathedral |url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/norway/trondheim-nidaros-cathedral |website=Sacred Destinations}}</ref>
In 1814, this church served as an election church ({{langx|no|valgkirke}}).<ref name="lhw">{{Cite web |title=Valgkirkene |url=https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/wiki/Valgkirkene |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=LokalHistorieWiki.no |language=Norwegian}}</ref> Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the Constitution of Norway. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in Eidsvoll later that year.<ref name="lhw" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Om valgene |url=http://1814.arkivverket.no/#about-elections |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=Valgene i 1814 |publisher=Arkivverket |language=Norwegian |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205923/http://1814.arkivverket.no/#about-elections }}</ref>
Along with Vår Frue Church, the cathedral is part of the ''Nidaros og Vår Frue'' parish in the Nidaros deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110603071649/http://www.nidarosdomen.no/nb-NO/var+frue+apen+kirke/historie/historie.html Vår Frues historie (Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeider)]</ref>
==Building and restoration== {{Main|Nidaros Cathedral West Front}}
thumb|left|The church before 1762
Work on the cathedral as a memorial to St. Olav started in 1070. It was finished some time around 1300, nearly 150 years after being established as the cathedral of the diocese. The cathedral was badly damaged by fires in 1327 and again in 1531. The nave was destroyed and was not rebuilt until the restoration in early 1900s.
In 1708, the church burned down completely except for the stone walls. It was struck by lightning in 1719, and was again ravaged by fire. Major rebuilding and restoration of the cathedral started in 1869, initially led by architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer, and nearly completed by Christian Christie. It was officially completed in 2001. Maintenance of the cathedral is an ongoing process.
The oldest parts of the cathedral consist of the octagon with its surrounding ambulatory. This was the site of the original high altar, with the reliquary casket of Saint Olav, and choir. Design of the octagon may have been inspired by the Corona of Canterbury Cathedral, although octagonal shrines have a long history in Christian architecture. Similarly, the choir shows English influence, and appears to have been modeled after the Angel Choir of Lincoln Cathedral.
thumb|The west front in the late 19th century, before restoration
It is joined to the octagon by a stone screen that fills the entire east side of the choir. The principal arch of this screen is subdivided into three subsidiary arches: the central arch frames a statue of Christ the Teacher, standing on the top of a central arch of three subsidiary arches below him. The space above the principal arch, corresponding to the vault of the choir, contains a crucifix by the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, placed between statues of the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John. Built into the south side of the ambulatory is a small well. A bucket could be lowered to draw up water drawn from the spring that originated from St. Olav's original burial place. (This was covered over by the construction of later cathedrals).
The present cathedral has two principal altars. At the east end of the chancel in the octagon is an altar at the site of the medieval high altar, behind which stood the silver reliquary casket containing the remains of St. Olav. This silver-gilt reliquary casket was melted down for coinage by Christian II and St. Olav's remains buried in an unknown location under the cathedral. The only relic known to have survived is a femur in a silver-gilt reliquary. Shaped as a forearm, it was given by Queen Josephine to St. Olav Catholic Cathedral in Oslo. The original reliquary casket was in the form of a church, with dragon heads on its gables. The dragons are similar to those carved on the gables of Norwegian stave churches. Surviving medieval reliquary caskets in Norway frequently also bear such dragon heads, for instance, that at Heddal Stave Church. He was the church's and the kingdom's patron saint. The current altar was designed to recall in marble sculpture the essential form of this reliquary casket. It replaces the previous baroque altar, which was transferred to Vår Frue Church.
The second altar is in the crossing, where the transept intersects the nave and the chancel. It bears a large modern silver crucifix. It was commissioned and paid for by Norwegian American emigrants in the early twentieth century, and the design was inspired by the memory of a similar silver crucifix in the medieval church. The medieval chapter house may also be used as a chapel for smaller groups of worshipers.
All the stained glass in the cathedral dates from its rebuilding in the 19th and 20th centuries. The windows on the north side of the church depict scenes from the Old Testament against a blue background, while those on the south side of the church depict scenes from the New Testament against a red background.
==Organs== thumb|Nidaros Cathedral Wagner organ Two organs are installed in the cathedral. The main organ was built by the Steinmeyer firm in 1930, and was erected in the north transept.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Steinmeyer organ (1930) - Nidaros cathedral, Trondheim |url=http://www.echo-organs.org/trondheim_organ_1_steinmeyer.html |access-date=2019-09-20 |website=www.echo-organs.org |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123021754/https://www.echo-organs.org/trondheim_organ_1_steinmeyer.html }}</ref> It then had 125 stops. Installation of the Steinmeyer organ was commissioned in 1930 for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Stiklestad. The organ was funded mostly by donations, particularly by Elias Anton Cappelen Smith. In 1962, the organ was heavily rebuilt and moved to the west nave. Many stops were removed; some of them were used to build a new choir organ. This organ was fully restored in 2014.<ref>[http://www.hf.ntnu.no/mus/org/nidarosdomen/steinm-e.htm The Nidaros Cathedral Steinmeyer Organ (Department of Musicology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204174557/http://www.hf.ntnu.no/mus/org/nidarosdomen/steinm-e.htm |date=2010-12-04 }}</ref><ref>[http://mypipeorganhobby.blogspot.com/2009/10/wagner-organ-1739-trondheim-norway.html Wagner organ, 1739, Trondheim, Norway]</ref>
The old Baroque organ built by noted German organ builder Joachim Wagner (1690–1749) during the period 1738–40 was carefully restored by Jürgen Ahrend between 1993 and 1994. It has 30 stops and is located at a gallery in the north transept.<ref>[http://www.hf.ntnu.no/mus/org/nidarosdomen/wagner-e.htm The Nidaros Cathedral Wagner Organ (Department of Musicology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329162953/http://www.hf.ntnu.no/mus/org/nidarosdomen/wagner-e.htm |date=2007-03-29 }}</ref>
==Place of Christian pilgrimage== Today, the cathedral is a popular place of Evangelical-Lutheran Christian pilgrimage.<ref>{{cite web |title=The first pilgrimage |url=https://stolavwaterway.com/en/the-first-pilgrimage/ |publisher=St Olav Waterway |access-date=20 April 2026}}</ref> Saint Olaf had brought Christianity to Norway, with the people of the country converting to the faith.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trondheim, Norway |url=https://www.greenpilgrimageeurope.net/trondheim.html |publisher=European Green Pilgrimage Network |access-date=20 April 2026 |language=en}}</ref> After his death in the Battle of Stiklestad, he was recognized as a Christian martyr and subsequently canonized as a saint in the Western Christian Church.<ref name="John2016"/> According to Christian tradition, miracles occurred at his tomb in Trondheim.<ref name="John2016"/> A church, which eventually became the grand Nidaros Cathedral, was built over his grave.<ref name="John2016">{{cite web |last1=John |first1=Roger |title=St. Olaf? |url=https://www.st-olaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Caller-Newsletter-May-2016.pdf |publisher=St. Olaf Lutheran Church |date=2016}}</ref>
Pilgrims reach Nidaros Cathedral by travelling the historic Pilgrim's Route ({{langx|no|Pilegrimsleden}}) as an act of sacrifice offered to God, as well as to pay homage to Saint Olaf. Upon arrival to Nidaros Cathedral, Christian pilgrims traditionally walk around it thrice, and then enter it reverently, with a prayerful state of mind.<ref name="Pilegrimsleden2026">{{cite web |title=Nidaros Cathedral|url=https://www.pilegrimsleden.no/en/articles/nidarosdomen |publisher=Pilegrimsleden |access-date=20 April 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Mass and the Divine Office, according to the Evangelical-Lutheran tradition, are celebrated daily at Nidaros Cathedral, in addition to other prayer services that are held there throughout the day. Christian pilgrims complete their pilgrimage to Nidaros Cathedral by attending Mass there and receiving the Eucharist.<ref name="Nidarosdomen2026">{{cite web |title=Services |url=https://www.nidarosdomen.no/en/menigheten/gudstjenesteliv |publisher=Nidarosdomen |access-date=20 April 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Those who complete their pilgrimage receive a pilgrim certificate that is granted by Nidaros Cathedral.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethnographic heritage on the ways to Trondheim |url=https://rurallure.eu/pilots/ethnographic-heritage-on-the-ways-to-trondheim/ |publisher=rurAllure |access-date=20 April 2026 |date=2026}}</ref>
Nidaros Cathedral is also the site of the observation of Olav's Wake ({{langx|no|Olavsvaka}}). This Christian religious and cultural festival is centered upon the anniversary of the death of Saint Olav at the Battle of Stiklestad. A number of pilgrims come to Nidaros Cathedral for this.
==Media gallery== <gallery mode="packed"> Die Nidaros Kathedrale in Trondheim. 02.jpg|From north-east Nidarosdomen fra øst.jpg|From east Vinterdomen.jpg|From Elgeseter bridge Nidaros Cathedral Trondheim.JPG|From north-east in 2011 Trondheim (8273937847).jpg|At night Nidaros detailss.jpg|Detail of west front More details Nidaros.jpg|Statues on west front Nidaros Cathedral 01.jpg|The altar Organ_at_Nidarosdomen_06.jpg|organ Nidaros Cathedral Ceiling 01.jpg|Ceiling Nidaros Cathedral Interior.jpg|Interior Nidaros Cathedral Interior 2.jpg|Interior Nidaros Cathedral Interior 3.jpg|Interior </gallery>
==Choirs== *Nidaros Cathedral Choir *Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir *Nidaros Cathedral Girls' Choir *Schola Sancta Sunnivae *Nidaros Vocalis *Nidaros Oratory Choir
==Alleged bombing plot== The cathedral is also familiar to enthusiasts of Norwegian black metal, as it is featured on the cover artwork of ''De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'', the 1994 studio album by Mayhem. It was rumored that members of the band who had already been associated with the burnings of other Christian churches in Norway had planned to destroy the cathedral<ref name="onceuponatime">{{Cite AV media |title=Once Upon a Time in Norway |last=Martin Ledang (director), Pål Aasdal (director) |publisher=Another World Entertainment |year=2007 |medium=motion picture}}</ref> in relation to the release of the album. When police arrested former Mayhem bassist Varg Vikernes on 19 August 1993 they had found {{convert|150|kg}} of explosives in his home.<ref name="Dagbladet.no">{{Cite web |last=Midtskogen, Rune |date=4 July 2009 |title='Greven' angrer ingenting |trans-title='The Count' regrets nothing |url=http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/07/04/magasinet/innenriks/kriminalomsorg/kirkebrann/drapsdom/7051663/ |access-date=25 August 2009 |language=no}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Christianity|Norway}} *List of churches in Nidaros *List of cathedrals in Norway *Nidaros *Pilgrim's Route *De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
==References and notes== ===Notes=== {{notelist}}
===Footnotes=== {{Reflist|2}}
===Literature=== * {{Cite book |last=Danbolt |first=Gunnar |title=Nidarosdomen, fra Kristkirke til nasjonalmonument |publisher=Andresen & Butenschøn |year=1997 |isbn=82-7694-024-2 |language=no |author-link=Gunnar Danbolt}}* {{Cite book |last=Ekroll |first=Øystein |title=Nidaros Cathedral: The West Front Sculptures |publisher=Trondheim Nidarosdomen |year=2006 |isbn=978-82-7693-063-4}} * {{Cite book |title=Nidaros Cathedral: And the archbishop's palace |publisher=Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeide |year=1995 |isbn=978-82-7693-017-7 |editor-last=Ekroll |editor-first=Øystein |editor-last2=Krokstad |editor-first2=Jill |editor-last3=Søreide |editor-first3=Tove}} * {{Cite book |last=Flekk |first=Torgeir |title=Nidaros Cathedral: The Stained Glass |publisher=Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeider |year=1983 |isbn=978-82-90536-00-3}} * {{Cite book |last=Hansen |first=Knut Ingar |title=Pilegrimsgang til Nidaros |publisher=Gyldendal Tide |year=1997 |isbn=978-82-478-0028-7 |language=no}} * {{Cite book |last=Kollandsrud |first=Mari |title=Pilgrimsleden til Nidaros |publisher=Gyldendal |year=1997 |isbn=978-82-05-24786-4 |language=no}} * {{Cite book |last=Luthen |first=Eivind |title=I pilegrimenes fotspor til Nidaros |publisher=Cappelen |year=1992 |isbn=978-82-02-13249-1 |language=no}} * {{Cite book |last=Raju |first=Alison |title=Pilgrim Road to Nidaros, The: St Olav's Way - Oslo to Trondheim |publisher=Cicerone Press Limited |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-85284-314-4}} * {{Cite book |last=Schirmer |first=Herman Major |title=Kristkirken I Nidaros |publisher=Nabu Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-273-58143-4 |language=no}} * {{Cite book |last=Suul |first=Torgeir Flekk |title=Nidarosdomen - glassmaleriene |publisher=Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeider |year=1983 |isbn=978-82-90536-00-3 |translator-last=Stevens |translator-first=Michael}} * {{Cite book |last=Thue |first=Stein |title=On the Pilgrim Way to Trondheim |publisher=Akademika Publishing |year=2008 |isbn=978-82-519-2303-3}}
==External links== {{commons category|Nidaros Cathedral}} * [https://www.nidarosdomen.no/en/menigheten/gudstjenesteliv Nidaros Cathedral Official website] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20131025044900/http://www.nidarosdomen.no/en-GB/ndr+restoration/about+ndr.html Restoration Workshop of the Nidaros Cathedral] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20111004093018/http://mylittlenorway.com/2008/11/nidaros-cathedral/ Nidaros Cathedral] * [http://mylittlenorway.com/2008/11/experience-nidaros-cathedral/ Experience Nidaros] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006190505/http://mylittlenorway.com/2008/11/nidaros-cathedral-and-the-archbishops-palace/ Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk-XF0LSFbk Nidaros Cathedral bells ringing (short video)] * [http://www.gotik-romanik.de/TrondheimThumbnails/Thumbnails.html Nidaros domkirke Photographs] * [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trondheim_Wagner_Organ.jpg Wagner Organ, Nidaros Cathedral] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141227194216/http://www.trondheim.no/content/1117616992/The-St-Olav-Festival St. Olav Festival, Trondheim]
{{Churches in Trondheim}} {{Cathedrals of Norway}} {{authority control}} {{use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
Category:Churches in Trondheim Category:Churches in Trøndelag Category:Cathedrals in Norway Category:Lutheran cathedrals in Norway Category:Long churches in Norway Category:Stone churches in Norway Category:13th-century churches in Norway Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1300 Category:Churches completed in the 1300s Category:11th-century establishments in Norway Category:Former Roman Catholic cathedrals in Norway Category:Christian pilgrimages Category:Romanesque architecture in Norway Category:Gothic architecture in Norway Category:Coronation church buildings Category:Burial sites of the Fairhair dynasty Category:Norwegian election churches Category:Evangelical-Lutheran pilgrimage sites