Pilgrimage to Nidaros

Anyone reading the classic trilogy Kristin Lavransdottir knows she is frequently visiting the holy shrines of Nidaros.

well, pilgrims of secular Norway are again following the pilgrim trail:

In the Middle Ages many people found their way to Nidaros. There were several reasons for this. Some were looking for healing for themselves or their loved ones by praying at the shrine of the holy King Olav.

Others were seeking the forgiveness of God and the church. If we were going to attempt to describe a common characteristic for the medieval pilgrim, then it would have to be the desire to draw closer to the holy, to wholeness and to truth....

The landscapes that today's pilgrims wander through are the same as before. The mountains remain standing and continue to be good to orient oneself by, nature lives on through the seasons, and the pilgrims experience the same need for breaks and rest. All these externals set an inner process into motion. The pilgrim who reaches his or her goal will often experience the inner journey as more important than the outer. The one who reaches the goal is not quite the same as the one who left home at the start of the journey.

Some say with a measure of irony that the state of the pilgrim trails to Trondheim today makes them well suited as ways of penance. The marking is still not as good as we would wish. Neither are there enough pilgrim hostels yet for us to say that we are completely satisfied with the service along Norway's "tour route number 1".