The Archbishop's Palace in Trondheim ( Norwegian: Erkebispegården i Trondheim) is a castle and palace in the city of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, located just south of the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

. For hundreds of years, the castle was the seat, residence and administrative center of the Archbishop of Nidaros.

During the Middle ages

The castle is one of the largest medieval stone structures in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and the oldest walls are likely from the 13th century. The Archbishops of Nidaros expanded the castle gradually, with great halls and residential areas being built over time. Norway's last Archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson, attempted to make a final stand and defend the castle during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

but eventually fled into exile.

Royal property

After the abolishment of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, the castle became royal property where the local lensherre resided. The castle was restored, rebuilt into a residential palace and eventually used more for military purposes, again being expanded considerably. After the Sovereignty Act of 1660, the castle became the seat and residence of the

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff A bailiff is a ...

Restoration and current use

Substantial archeological excavations were made during the 1950s by

Nicolay Nicolaysen Nicolay Nicolaysen (14 January 1817 - 22 January 1911) was a Norway, Norwegian Archaeology, archaeologist and Norway's first state employed antiquarian. He is perhaps best known for his excavations of the ship burial at Gokstad ship burial, Gok ...

and Gerhard Fischer which led to restorations being made at the castle. Today, the castle has several museums, is frequently used by the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

and is also the venue of Olavsfestdagene.

The Royal Regalia

The Regalia of Norway have been kept in the western flank of the castle at various times since 1826, but have been on permanent display in the castle since 2006.The Royal Regalia
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Gallery

File:Erkebispegården Trondheim 01.jpg, The courtyard of the castle File:Trondheimpalaisepiscopal.jpg, Castle gates File:Museet Erkebispegården.jpg, Entrance to the castle museum File:L13 4195 erkebispegarden.JPG, The castle with the Nidaros cathedral in the background

Literature

* Bakke, Erling: ''Erkebispegården. Nordens eldste profane bygning'', Trondheim 1977. * Fischer, Dorothea og Gerhard: ''Erkebispegård – Kongsgård. Arkeologisk oppdagerarbeid 1952–72'' i ''Fortidsminneforeningens Årbok 1975'', pages 3–40. * Nordeide, Sæbjørg Walaker: ''Erkebispegården i Trondheim. Beste tomta i by'n.'' Trondheim 2003, page 379.

References

External links

The Archbishop's Palace Museum
{{Castles in Norway Episcopal palaces Castles in Norway Military installations in Trondheim Forts in Norway Museums in Trondheim Palaces in Norway Catholic Church in Norway History of Christianity in Norway