In the historic port city of Trondheim, central Norway

 "Norway is midnight sun and polar night. It is harsh winters and mild winters. It is hot summers and cold summers. Norway is a long and sparsely populated country. But above all, Norway is its people."

— Harald V, the current king of Norway
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(in central Norway) The historic port of Trondheim is found on a sheltered peninsula, on the southern shore of the deeply indented Trondheims Fjord, at the mouth of the Nidelva River, 23 miles (~37 kilometers) southeast of the Norwegian Sea. It was founded in 997 by King Olaf I Tryggvason as the village of Kaupangr; he built a church and a royal residence, Kongsgård, here. The city gained importance as a pilgrimage center, spurred by the legend of the miraculous preservation of the body of King Olaf II Haraldsson (later St. Olaf), who had been buried here after his death in battle at nearby Stiklestad (1030). The first church was built on the site of Olaf’s grave in 1075; the present edifice, Nidaros Cathedral, is one of the finest churches in Scandinavia. It has frequently been damaged and rebuilt; the latest reconstruction, begun in 1869, is still incomplete. The archbishopric of Nidaros was formed in 1152.

+ During the next 200 years the city prospered as a trade and shipping center but declined after the German Hanseatic merchants gained control of northern Europe’s, trade and made Bergen their main port. The city's wooden buildings have been devastated by fire some 15 times in the past 500 years. It suffered major damage in the 17th-century wars with Sweden. Trondheim’s modern expansion dates from 1877, when the first rail link with Oslo was completed. (In 1921 a second, more direct rail line was finished.)
+ Trondheim, a major land and sea transport link of Norway, connects the more densely settled south with the far-northern regions. The cathedral is a national shrine and the traditional coronation place for Norway’s kings -- although Olaf V and his son Harald V omitted the ceremony on their successions to the throne in 1957 and 1991, respectively.

+ Other important sites are Erkebispegården (the archbishop’s residence), Stiftsgården (royal residence), museums, the Church of Our Lady, Munkholmen monastery. and the Kristiansten Fortress.

+ The seat of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences is in Trondheim, as is the University of Trondheim.

+ In summary, Trondheim (Norway's third-largest city), with its colorful warehouses, waterways, and wooded hills, is also one of its most photogenic. Trondheim, the country's historic capital, is quite a pleasure to explore, with wide streets and a partly pedestrianized heart. Great cafes, restaurants, and museums, compete for visitor's attention (while Europe's northernmost Gothic cathedral doesn't have toy). Fishing boats putter around the harbor, seagulls wheel and screech overhead, -- and beyond the city's outskirts there is a wealth of wilderness to be explored.