Vinger Royal Road (''Eskoleia'') was the historical name of an ancient route in southern Norway. Historically Eskoleia was one of the most important traffic arteries between Norway and Sweden. It provided an established road leading both north and south from the Swedish border.
After the canonization of
Saint Olaf
Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...
in 1031, Eskoleia became an important pilgrim’s route from Sweden. During the early medieval period, pilgrims traveled to the shrine of St. Olaf at
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
. In
Koppom in
Eda Municipality
Eda Municipality (''Eda kommun'') is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden, on the Norwegian border. Its seat is located in the town of Charlottenberg.
The municipal reform of 1971 saw the forming of the present municipality ...
, there was an old chapel site from pilgrimage hikes to Nidaros, with cross and altar called ''Eskoleia Uligama''. From Sweden, Eskoleia went from
Vingulmark
Vingulmark (Old Norse ''Vingulmörk'') is the old name for the area in Norway which today makes up the counties of Østfold, western parts of Akershus (excluding Romerike), and eastern parts of Buskerud (Hurum and Røyken municipalities), and inclu ...
(the land south and east of the
Oslo Fjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
) over
Raumariki along Glomma further over
Sør-Odal
Sør-Odal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skarnes. Other villages in Sør-Odal include Disenå and Sander.
The ...
and
Vinger
Vinger is a traditional district in Innlandet county, Norway. The district encompasses the lands that make up Kongsvinger and Eidskog municipalities. It is generally located to the south and east of the town of Kongsvinger and the river Glomm ...
to
Eidskog
Eidskog is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, ...
.
The road has also been important militarily and the route of several invasions throughout history. The last time the Swedish forces attacked by way of Eidskog was in 1814 when Maj. Gen.
Carl Pontus Gahn
Carl Pontus Gahn (1 March 1759 – 9 May 1825) was a Swedish military officer who participated in the Russo-Swedish War in Finland in 1788–1789, the Finnish War campaign in Norway in 1808 and the unsuccessful invasion of Norway at Eidskog in 18 ...
crossed the border and marched towards
Kongsvinger Fortress
Kongsvinger Fortress ( no, Kongsvinger festning) is located in the city and municipality of Kongsvinger in the county of Hedmark, Norway. It is situated on a hill west and north of the Glomma river, standing astride the ancient Vinger Royal Road, ...
.
The importance of the route was strengthened with the opening in 1862 of
Grensebanen, the
Kongsvinger Railway Line which connected Oslo to
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Today
Riksvei 2
Norwegian national roads (Norwegian: Riksvei/Riksveg abbr. Rv; literally: road of the rike/realm), are roads thus categorized by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) which also maintains them. In 2007 there were of this cl ...
runs between
Kløfta
Kløfta is a town located in Ullensaker, Akershus, Norway. It has a population of approximately 7,170 inhabitants. Kløfta has a soccer team called Kløfta IL, and a shopping market. Kløfta has three schools – a middle school and two first thr ...
in
Innlandet
Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...
county and the border with Sweden via Kongsvinger. In Sweden, the road continues as
Riksväg 61. The road is one of the most used routes between Oslo and Sweden.
''Oslo - Kongsvinger – Magnor'' (Statens vegvesen)
/ref>
See also
* St. Olav’s Way
*Battle of Matrand
The Battle of Matrand ( no, Slaget ved Matrand) was a military battle on 5 August 1814 between Norwegian and Swedish forces as part of the Swedish-Norwegian War of 1814. The battle took place near the village of Matrand in Eidskog and at Skot ...
References
Other sources
*Rastad, Per Erik (1982) ''Kongsvinger festnings historie. Krigsårene 1807–1814''
*Rastad, Per Erik (2004) ''Sju dramatiske år - Ufredstid i Glåmdalsdistriktet 1807–1814''
Old roads of Norway
Pilgrimage routes
{{Norway-road-stub