Steinvikholm Castle () is an island

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

on the

Skatval Skatval is a village in Stjørdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the Skatval peninsula about northwest of the town of Stjørdalshalsen. The inhabitants are called as ''Skatvalsbygg''. Skatval Church is located in th ...

peninsula in the present-day

Stjørdal Municipality () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the List of towns and cities in ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The castle was built over seven years, from 1525 to 1532, by Norway's last

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Olav Engelbrektsson Olav Engelbrektsson (, Trondenes, Norway – 7 February 1538, Lier, Belgium, Lier, Duchy of Brabant, Habsburg Netherlands) was the 28th Archdiocese of Nidaros, Archbishop of Norway from 1523 to 1537, the List of Norwegian monarchs, Regent of Norwa ...

. Steinvikholm castle became a powerful fortification by the time it was built, and it is the largest construction raised in the Norwegian

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Castle

The castle occupies about half of the land on the rocky island. The absence of a spring meant that

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

had to be brought from the mainland. A wooden bridge served as the only way to the island other than boat. Although the castle design was common across Europe in 1525, its

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

design was becoming obsolete because of the improved siege firepower offered by gunpowder and cannons.

History

The castle was constructed at the instruction of

(c. 1480– 1538), Archbishop of the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. Construction started after his return from a meeting with the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, presumably in anticipation of impending military-religious conflict. As Archbishop Engelbrektsson's resistance to the encroachment of Danish rule escalated, first with King

Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I ( Danish and ; ; ; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Reformatio ...

and his successor King

Christian III of Denmark Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

, Steinvikholm Castle and

Nidarholm Abbey Nidarholm Abbey was a Benedictine monastery located on the island of Munkholmen in Trondheim Fjord on the sea approach to Trondheim, Norway. History The monastery was founded either in 1028 by King Canute the Great or in about 1100 by Sigurd Ulls ...

became the

Church's military strongholds in Norway. In April 1537, the Danish-Norwegian

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

succeeded in driving the archbishop from the castle into exile at Lier in the Netherlands (now in Belgium), where he died on 7 February 1538. At the castle the archbishop left behind

St. Olav's shrine St. Olav’s Shrine was the resting place of the earthly remains of St. Olav, Norway’s patron saint, behind the high altar of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway, from the mid 11th century. For nearly five centuries the shrine was of major ...

and other treasures from

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

(

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

). The original coffin containing St. Olav's body remained at Steinvikholm until it was returned to Nidaros Cathedral in 1564. Since 1568, the site of St. Olav's grave in Nidaros has been unknown. From the 17th to 19th century, the island was used as a quarry and some of its masonry was sold and removed from the site. This activity was condoned by the Danish-Norwegian authorities as a way of eliminating a monument to the opposition of the Danish–Norwegian Union.

Modern usage

Steinvikholm Fort is owned and operated today by the Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments (). The island has been the site of the midnight opera, ''Olav Engelbrektsson'', which details the life and struggles of the archbishop. The opera is held in August annually with libretto by

Edvard Hoem Edvard Hoem (born 10 March 1949) is a Norwegian novelist, dramatist, lyricist, psalmist and government scholar. He made his literary debut in 1969, with the poetry collection ''Som grønne musikantar''. He was awarded the Norwegian Critics Priz ...

and music by

Henning Sommerro Henning Sommerro (born 3 May 1952 in Surnadal Municipality) is a Norwegian musician, composer and professor at NTNU. Biography Sommerro grew up on the Sommerro farm at Skei in Surnadal Municipality. His name became widely known in 1977 when ...

. The opera has been organized by Steinvikholm Musikkteater (now Opera Trøndelag) since the beginning in 1993. ''Olav Engelbrektsson''
Opera Trøndelag

Gallery

File:2009 03 16 Trondheim,Skatval, Mære, Værnes 3169673.jpg, Steinvikholmen fort File:Slottet på Steinvikholmen.jpg, Bridge to Steinvikholm File:Operascene.JPG, Site of the opera of ''Olav Engelbrektsson''

References

Other sources

*Hoem, Edvard (2006) ''Kom fram, fryste!'' (Oslo: Aschehoug Agency Publishers)

External links

Olav Engelbrektsson Midnight OperaFortidsminneforeningen website
{{Authority control Episcopal palaces Castles in Norway Forts in Norway Music venues in Norway Buildings and structures owned by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments Military installations in Trøndelag