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Crown Prince Haakon of Norway venturing on the Pilgrim Way. Photo by Jens Petter Søraa |
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If you find calm, peace of mind and recreation in nature, try walking the pilgrim paths to Trondheim.
The interest in walking the pilgrim paths is on the rise. Some walk all the way, while some hike shorter sections of the path.
As in the middle ages, people use different means to travel, and not everyone chooses to walk all the way. Pilgrims also arrive by car and bus, train, boat and plane.
The Saint Olav Ways
The pilgrim ways through Scandinavia are a network of routes through Denmark, Sweden and Norway, many of them the remnants of historic routes leading to Nidaros Cathedral
in Trondheim where Saint Olav lies buried.
A Cultural Heritage
From the 11th century, the Saint Olav cult spread throughout the Nordic countries, and to the British Isles and Hanseatic towns along the Baltic Sea. Adherents were found in the Netherlands and Normandy, and even as far away as Spain, Russia and Istanbul. The oldest surviving painting of St. Olav, around 1160 AD, is on a column in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.
The number of Olav churches and chapels in the Nordic countries and elsewhere reminds us that the St. Olav tradition once flourished all over northern Europe. Prior to the Reformation (before 1540, approximately), we know of at least 340 Olav churches and Olav chapels of which 288 were outside Norway. In Sweden, we know of at least 75 churches dedicated to St. Olav, in Denmark around 20 and in Finland at least 13.
St. Olav’s day or Olsok (literally St. Olav’s wake) is celebrated many places in Scandinavia each year on 29 July to commemorate the Saint. It is also the official national holiday of the Faroe Islands. The annual St. Olav’s Church and Culture Festival in Trondheim always attracts a large international audience for an entire week around Olsok.
We invite you to walk the St. Olav Ways, confident that you will reap the benefits of outdoor life, enjoy special cultural experiences and find time for personal reflection.
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