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The *Cathedral, situated on the S. side of the town, near the
Nid-Elv and the present railway-station, has for several years heen
undergoing a thorough and judicious restoration under the
superintendence of the architect Hr. Christie, and the chapter-house
(English service in summer) and the octagonal choir are now completed.
The work will probably extend over several decades, hut will
doubtless progress steadily, as annual subsidies are granted both
by government and by the town itself, and regular subscriptions
are received from private persons who are justly proud of this
noble national monument. The connection and history of the
different parts of the building are not easily understood without
the aid of a guide, especially if the traveller visits it only once.
Those who possess a moderate acquaintance with Danish will find
Nicolaysen’s ‘Om Throndhjems Domkirke’ (60 0., sold in the
cathedral) a useful little guide, or they may consult P. A. Munclds
larger-work on the same subject, or the German work of Minutoli. —
The first point to be borne in mind is that the building of the
church extended over a century and a half, that it underwent
repeated alteration, and that it suffered repeatedly from fires
(1328, 1432, 1531, 1708, 1719). The architects were, moreover,
bound to the site of St. Olaf’s original burial-place, for it was
there that they had to erect the altar destined for the reliquary
containing the holy man’s remains. The church originally built
by Olaf Kyrre was a simple basilica, about 150 ft. in length
and 4Ö ft. in width. Throndhjem having been erected into
an archbishopric in 1151, the crowds of pilgrims continued to
increase, and the church was found inadequate for their
requirements. Eystein (or Øystein, 1161-88), the third of the
archbishops, accordingly erected the spacious Transept, with a tower
over it, and also the * Chapter House (in which he lies buried) on
the N. side of the choir, both in the Romanesque style. Of the
appearance of the choir at that period nothing is known, but
within a few decades after Eystein’s death it was rebuilt, partly
by English architects in an ornate Gothic style resembling that of
several of the English cathedrals, and was completed about the
year 1240. To that period belongs the exquisite **Octagon or
apse (which recalls ‘Becket’s Crown’ at Canterbury), forming an
independent part of the edifice, and not being merely a projecting
termination to the choir. It was on an altar in the centre of this
sanctuary that the revered relics of St. Olaf were placed, and this
was the great goal once so devoutly sought by thousands of
pilgrims. The reliquary, executed in silver, and weighing no less
than 200lbs., stood here within a simple wooden chest, which in
its turn was encased in a finely carved shrine, enriched with
precious stones. The reliquary and shrine were carried off to
Copenhagen at the time of the Reformation , and the worthless chest
alone left behind.
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