Midtbyen is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of the city of

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, an ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. The borough comprises much of the city centre of downtown

plus part of the

Bymarka Bymarka is a large park and nature reserve on the west side of the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. Location and use Bymarka is situated to the west of the city center and has an area of , with more than of walking tracks. ...

rural areas to the west.

Location

Midtbyen proper is located north and west of the river

Nidelva Nidelva is a river in Trondheim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name of the long river translates to "the River Nid" since the suffix ''elva'' or ''elven'' is the Norwegian word for "the river". Location The Nidelva starts at ...

, south of the Trondheim channel and east of the neighborhood of Ila, thus being north of

Øya Øya is a neighborhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is situated the borough of Midtbyen, just east of Elgeseter. The neighborhood consists of a peninsula formed by the river Nidelva. The community is located close to ...

and

Elgeseter Elgeseter is a neighborhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the western part of the borough of Lerkendal. It is south and east of the river Nidelva, south of the neighborhoods of Midtbyen and Øya, wes ...

, west of

Bakklandet Bakklandet is a neighborhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It lies in the borough of Østbyen on the east side of the Nidelva river between the Bakke Bridge (''Bakke bru'') and the Old Town Bridge (''Gamle Bybro''). T ...

and south of

Brattøra Brattøra is an artificial island in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located at the mouth of the river Nidelva just north of the city centre ( Midtbyen), west of Nyhavna, and south of Trondheimsfjord. There i ...

. The borough of Midtbyen also comprises areas of Ila,

Byåsen Byåsen is a large neighborhood area in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It constitutes a large part of the city in the borough of Midtbyen. It encompasses a number of areas southwest of the main city centre. This includes al ...

Trolla Trolla is a village in the municipality of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the Midtbyen borough, along the Trondheimsfjord on the north coast of the Bymarka area. It is about northeast of the village of Langørjan a ...

and

Stavne Stavne is a neighbourhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Midtbyen. It is located on the west shore of the river Nidelva, east of Byåsen. It lies across the river from Elgeseter. The ar ...

. The city's most historic buildings and central institutions are located here. The area is primarily

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

with

office building An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

s and

retail stores The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are ...

, though there is also some dense housing. The westernmost part of Midtbyen is dominated by housing, while commercial interests dominate the eastern section. In the middle of Midtbyen is Trondheim Torg (''Trondheim torv''), a square that features a statue of the city's founder,

Olav Tryggvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken ( Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of N ...

History

Midtbyen dates back to the

Viking Era The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the ...

when it started as a marketplace, in 997 according to the saga of Olav Tryggvason. It was formerly called Kaupangen i Nidaros by Olav Tryggvason and later Nidaros (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: Niðaróss). The original marketplace of Trondheim grew up around the mouth of the Nid River. In the 11th century, Nidaros was turned into the Archiepiscopate of Nidaros and for a period, until 1217, it was the capital of Norway. Midtbyen and the immediate surrounding area remained the only settled area of Trondheim until the late 19th century when the city started expanding outside the Midtbyen limits. The name Midtbyen dates back to after the merging of Trondheim with the surrounding

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the 1960s. =Transport= As the centre of the city, Midtbyen serves as the most important

transportation hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

in Trondheim. Public transport has its main hub at the intersection of Prinsens Gate and Kongens Gate, while the

Trondheim Tramway The Trondheim Tramway in Trondheim, Norway, is the world's most northerly tramway system, following the closure and dismantling of the Arkhangelsk tramways in Russia. It consists of one 8.8-km-long line, the Gråkallen Line, running from St. Ol ...

terminates at St. Olavs gate. Just over the canal on

Trondheim Central Station Trondheim Central Station ( no, Trondheim sentralstasjon) or Trondheim S is the main railway station serving the city of Trondheim, Norway. Located at Brattøra in the north part of the city centre, it is the terminus of the Dovre Line, runnin ...

providing both local and express train services. In the summer there is also a ferry to

Munkholmen Munkholmen ( no, Monk's islet) is an islet in the municipality of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island sits in the Trondheimsfjord about northwest of the island of Brattøra and the mouth of the river Nidelva in the center of the ...

from Ravnkloa.

Media gallery

TrondheimNidelva-improved.jpg, Traditional buildings along

2010-08-04 - Trondheim - Nidarosdom 2 - panoramio - Edgar El.jpg, Nidaros Cathedral Trondheim sentrum, Bakklandet, Brattøra.jpg, Port area

Institutions

The southern part of Midtbyen is dominated by

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...

, including

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( 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 (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became t ...

(''Nidarosdomen'') and the

Vår Frue Church Vår Frue Church ( no, Vår Frue kirke / en, Our Lady's Church) is a medieval parish church of the Church of Norway in Trondheim municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the downtown Midtbyen area of the city of Trondheim, ...

, while

Kalvskinnet Kalvskinnet is a neighborhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is situated southwest of the city centre in the borough of Midtbyen, bordering the river Nidelva in the south. The area is dominated by public offices, inclu ...

, the southwestern sections of Midtbyen, hosts the

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

and

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...

faculty of Sør-Trøndelag University College and the institute of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

at the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including th ...

. The central area of Midtbyen is dominated by financial institutions, including the corporate headquarters of

Sparebanken Midt-Norge SpareBank 1 SMN is a Norwegian savings bank based in Trøndelag. The bank has 71 branches in 51 municipalities in Central Norway and is part of the bank alliance SpareBank 1. In Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag the bank is branded SpareBank ...

, BNbank and

Fokus Bank Danske Bank, formerly named Fokus Bank, is the Norwegian operations of the Danish Danske Bank. It has long been one of the largest banks in Scandinavia. Danske Bank has 41 local branches spread around all of Norway. The main office is in Trond ...

References

External links