Travel to Harstad - Norway - Europe - History

Harstad - History

Harstad is situated on Hinnψy, the largest island in Norway and the centre of North Norway.

Through the history Trondenes has had a central position in North of Norway. The name indicates that there have been people in the area since the Iron Age. Trondenes was under royal jurisdiction in the period from 1020 to 1300. After that, the church took over, and Trondenes was at times, the religious focal point for the entire region. Next to Trondenes Church, a stone building with a steeply pitched red roof, is the new unique Trondenes Historical Centre. Here, the local history of the region through 1000 years is told through pictures, paintings, unique artefacts, smells and sounds. Nordic myths, Vikings, clerical power, heroes, and even old customs are intertwined in the presentation.

A 2500-year-old bronze collar has been found at Trondenes. The find is described as sensational.
The Bronze Age ornament was found by the seashore, and was in very good condition. The person who found it first thought it was scrap metal from the wartime. Previously, only seven Bronze Age finds have been discovered in all of Northern Norway. Up to 1960, it was believed that there had been no Bronze Age period in Northern Norway.

Anna Rogde is one of the world's oldest sailing schooners, launched in 1868. She sailed as a freighter along the coastline of Norway, the Baltic Sea and along the coastlines of other countries as far south as

Portugal an as far east as Archangel. She is a living proof of Norway's old shipbuilding traditions. The grand old lady is permanently docked at the concert hall quay when she is not out sailing.

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