Travel Guide Stiklestad

About 90 km north of Trondheim on E 6, Stilkestad saw a historic battle for Norway in 1030.The story begins at the birth of Olav Haraldsson the Saint, in 995. This warrior embarked very young in Viking raid and converted to Christianity (he received baptism in Rouen in 1014). Elu king of Norway in Trondheim in 1015, he faces the growing opposition of the Bønder ("great farmers") in the region and fled the country in 1028 for Gardarrike (Byzance). When he returns to his kingdom, King Olav is killed by the overwhelming pagan army during this famous battle of Stiklestad on June 29, 1030. Tore Hund (Tore le Chien) has the fatal privilege to raise the king's cot, to give him a fatal stroke. Thereafter Olav was canonized by the Catholic Church of Rome and remains the most important saint of the Norwegian Church. The Battle of Stiklestad is now seen as a turning point in the conversion of Pagan Vikings to Christianity.Today, on these old battlefields, a church, a museum and an outdoor theater are peacefully cohabiting.Stiklestad celebrates Norway's greatest saint at the Saint Olav Festival. More info about www.stiklestad.no