The Pilgrim Road to Nidaros - A Trekker's Guidebook

• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates
• Reviews
• Further Reading

'This is a walker’s guide of the 643km medieval pilgrim route from Oslo to Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, where Saint Olav was buried. Saint Olav, king of Norway, was responsible for much of the conversion of the country to Christianity. Visits to his shrine, the focus of many miracles, culminated in the route becoming the fourth most important pilgrim route in Europe, after Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela.
    Following the arrival of the Reformation in Norway and the prohibition of pilgrims, the route fell into disuse some time after 1537. Between 1994 and 1996, however, many of the old tracks were cleared and re-opened and the western (cultural) route, via Gjovik, was waymarked in its entirety in 1997. This coincided with the millennium of the founding of Nidaros Cathedral. The eastern route goes via Hamar and waymarking was completed in 2000. The two branches join up about 20km north of Lillehammer. Directions for both branches are covered in the guidebook.
    The introduction contains a brief history about Saint Olav and the pilgrimage routes that developed following his death in 1030. It is estimated that pilgrims took 25 days to cover the route from Oslo to Nidaros, many aiming to arrive on the saint’s day (July 29th). The author informs us that, unlike his historical counterpart, the modern pilgrim no longer returns home by foot; thus the route is waymarked only in one direction. Along the way one can visit many of the medieval churches and wells that still exist.
    On the language front, the author includes a short glossary of geographical and other useful items in an appendix at the rear of the book. Although English is regarded as the second language of Norway it is always worth taking along a small dictionary. It is the ‘sing-song’ intonation of the spoken word that causes most difficulty (this sounds a bit like the Welsh language).
    Information about accommodation, returning from Trondheim and other relevant facts are included in the preamble. The route description is well laid out and easy to follow. Points of interest along the route have been printed in light blue and consequently stand out against the black print of the route directions.'

(Les Maple, Strider)