Trondheim

The medieval name of the town Niðaróss is composed of the river name Nið and Old Norse óss "estuary", thus meaning "mouth of the Nið". In the late Middle Ages, the name Kaupangen i Trondheimen "trading place in Trondheim" spread, which was shortened and danised to Trondhjem in the official Danish language. According to the coin inscriptions, the name Nidernes was also in use.

Since the attainment of full Norwegian independence in 1905, nationalist circles throughout the country sought to replace Danish names with the medieval Norwegian forms (such was the case with Oslo). At the instigation of the cultural association Norges Ungdomslag ("Norwegian Youth Group"), the Norwegian parliament finally passed a law whereby the city was renamed back to Nidaros on 1 January 1930. This renaming, which was carried out without the involvement of those directly affected, led to a storm of protest among the population and the city government in Trondheim. There was also a press war between the newly founded newspaper Nidaros under Håkon Løken and the traditional Adresseavisen.

Parliament was forced to modify its original decision and finally agreed to a compromise proposal by the Trondheim merchant Ivar Lykke. Instead of the Danonorwegian name Trondhjem, Lykke pleaded for the Nynorwegian form Trondheim (with the diphthong -ei- typical of Nynorsk). The defeat of Nidaros led to an ad boycott that lasted until the German occupation in 1940. The name Trondheim has officially been in use since 6 March 1930, but the older Trondhjem is also in use to this day.

Location

Trondheim is located at the mouth of the river Nidelv at latitude 63 degrees 25' north and longitude 10 degrees 24' east. The city centre lies on a peninsula bounded by the Trondheimsfjord to the north and the river Nidelven to the east and south. The inner city area lies on a plain open to the north, bounded to the east and west by mountainous areas with peaks ranging from 250 to 550 metres in height. To the south, the plain rises to the higher Heimdal plateau.

The rural municipalities of Strinda, Byneset, Tiller and Leinstrand, which over the years became part of the urban area, were annexed to the city municipality of Trondheim in 1964. The area of the present-day municipality of Trondheim covers 342.4 square kilometres. In the outskirts of the municipality there are large areas of land used for agriculture, in total about 17% of the total area. Approximately 33% of the total area of the municipality is forest.

The population is 207,595 (as of 1 January 2021) and was 150,166 on 1 January 2001 (still excluding Klæbu, which was incorporated in 2020). The population development can be explained by the good labour market situation in the city and the population's desire for a varied range of services and culture. In addition to the registered population, there are about 15,000 students registered in other municipalities. In total, there are about 30,000 students studying in Trondheim, which means that about one in six of the city's inhabitants is a student.

Climate

The climate in Trondheim is mild and humid compared to the rest of central Norway. The city is influenced by the polar climate zone in the north and the temperate climate zone in the south. From the west, the city is under the influence of the westerly wind belt of the northern hemisphere. In this way, the weather in Trondheim is not very stable.

The annual mean temperature is 5.3 degrees, -3.1 in January and 13.7 in June to August. The lowest temperature was recorded in 1899 at -26.1 and the highest in 1901 at 35.0 degrees. The average annual precipitation is 892 mm (1961-1990) and the city has an average of 200 days with precipitation. About 70 to 100 days there is snow in Trondheim.

City breakdown

A new city division was introduced on 1 January 2005. Trondheim is divided into four districts. In detail:

• The Midtbyen district includes City Centre, Tyholt, Byåsen, Trolla and Ila.
• The Østbye district includes Möllenberg, Lower Elvehavn, Lade, Strindheim, Jakobsli, Vikåsen and Ranheim.
• The Lerkendal district includes Lerkendal, Nardo, Flatåsen and Moholt.
• The Heimdal district includes Heimdal, Byneset, Tiller, Kolstad, Saupstad and Kattem.