Stiklestad National Cultural Center

We spent nearly three hours at Stiklestad and took in only a fraction of its attractions. (Note the pink arrows on the Stiklestad Map.) After visiting the church and cemetery,


we
walked

down
the
street

to
the
culture
center.

(on the right)


There we walked through an exhibition portraying the time before and after the Battle of Stiklestad. The "walking drama" – called "The Changing Face of Faith" – represented Norway's transition from paganism to Christianity and recognized the Battle of 1030 as the turning point.

Later we toured

the center's
upper level with
historical displays
and explanations,

including life-sized
mannequins and a
mini-replica of the
Nidaros Cathedral.




The
vibrant
floral
display

at the
foot of

Saint
Olav's
Monument

drew us
up the hill





to the place where Olav's body was kept the night after the Battle of Stiklestad

Alongside of the church (in the background), this hilltop is a most symbolic site. The first known monument here was a wooden cross with an iron cross on top. Later, the wooden cross was replaced with a brick monument and the original iron cross on top. This current monument is the oldest known public monument in Norway. Erected in 1807, it is the only one that pre-dates the adoption of the nation's constitution in 1814.

(Fun facts from the center's brochure)

All the historical impressions and physical climbing tired out many in our group. As a graduate of Scandinavian Studies, I felt compelled to take in ONE more climb before giving into rest.

Kjell accompanied me to
"The Mounted King" statue
which stands above the open air theater – the place where thousands gather annually for "Saint Olav Drama."

The re-enactment – of the religious and cultural conflict between Olav Haraldsson's supporters and their opposition – is the highlight of the 10-day Saint Olav Festival,

which includes concerts, presentations, a medieval market and other activities for "kids of all ages."


"Some day..." I mused – as an ongoing student of Scandinavian Studies – "I too will partake!"


With
that,

we loaded
into the van

to drive onward...




...taking note of the adjacent site where archaeological excavation will soon begin.

Our guide
had noted that

this site,

once planned as a future parking lot, showed signs of being a viking burial ground. What then? Time will tell as workers continue to expand and draw in tourists to Stiklestad National Culture Center.




Meanwhile,
we watched
the wheat fields
go by in
Trøndelag –

Norway's
bread
basket.

Graveside Surprise

From the
church,

we walked
across
the street

and down the
tree-lined way

to the
cemetery

where –


through the iron gates –

we could see two headstones marking the graves of Lena's
father,
stepmother and
two half-sisters.

On our walk, Tora confided a bit of worry about the state of these graves.

She noted family members are responsible for floral care and to her knowledge,

no one attends this site of her grandparents and unwed aunts.




"An angel

took care

of your

worry,"

I replied

upon our arrival


as the group stood amidst the blooms of this Graveside Surprise.

Gustav (Mikalsen) Bjertnes
December 8, 1862 to August 23, 1914

Laura Bergithe (Eilertsdatter) Bjertnes
December 19, 1868 to October 24, 1955

Klara Sofie Bjertnes
September 22, 1907 to May 26, 1920

Ingeborg Bjertnes
November 6, 1911 to January 2, 1968

Good-Bye to Our Guide

Our guide noted the Stiklestad Church has gone through numerous restorations.

On one occasion, workers discovered that underneath a previous wall covering lie remnants of paintings that earlier congregations had attempted to erase and cover. Today stains of those attempts are visible between the high-set windows and



the eye-level

wall

paintings

of

Christ's

life.




As we
processed out,

we noticed


the exposed log
ceiling beams,


the elaborate
pipe organ
in the church balcony,






as well as

the wood-carving

and stone work

at the front door –

where we

bid our

Guide
"Good-bye."

Baptismal Font

Our guide then directed us to the font where many generations of Norwegians have been baptized into the Christian faith heralded by Saint Olav.

With the establishment of the Christianity into Norwegian culture, the Church in Rome instigated baptisms and other holy sacraments. The Church held that all people are born "unclean" with Original Sin. To enter a house of worship, the Church maintained that one must be "clean." The way to cleansing happens via the waters of Baptism.

Our guide explained evolutionary points in the baptismal tradition.

"This has been used
for 100 years,"

he said lifting
the golden pitcher
and casting it aside.
Then he picked out
the golden bowl
(under the pitcher) saying,

"This is a mere 400 years old"

and he flipped it behind him.

Our guide then
spread out his hands
over the stone font
saying,

"THIS is the original –

nearly
one thousand
years old."

He contrasted modern and ancient baptismal customs.

Today a child is brought to the church within its first year or two after birth. A parent holds the child in a prone position with its head over the bowl. The pastor takes the pitcher and pours water onto the child's head, usually wetting his hair and wiping it with a cloth.

This deep font served a different purpose. In the early church, baptism was commonly performed by submersion. Infants were held by their feet and dunked head first into the font three times while the priest prayed: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

Our eyes grew wide at the thought. Our guide offered, "It was quite fast and safe. Few, if any, children drowned. What usually got them was the cold weather."

He explained that no matter what the time of year, ancient families rushed a newborn from the birth bed to the church for immediate baptism. While the baby often weathered the dunking, improper swaddling and carting the child home through the raw elements may have caused illness leading to infant death.

Why the rush to baptize?

Should an unbaptized person die, he or she cannot enter Heaven. In ancient times – with no antibiotics or immunizations to treat common illnesses, infant mortality was high. Church clergy urged families to save their little one's souls before their bodies had a chance to perish.

Our guide explained – during the Middle Ages – the Church taught that not only was a newborn "unclean," but so was a pregnant woman for carrying a child conceived with Original Sin. As a result, congregations built benches along the exterior walls of the church building where pregnant women could sit outside to listen to the worship service because they were forbidden to enter the holy sanctuary.

Our womanly eyes grew wider yet!

Our guide said that those benches can still be seen on some of Norway's ancient stave churches. He noted the Reformation of 1517 sparked changes in many traditions as the Norwegian church pulled away along with Martin Luther. Today pregnant women are honored for the life which grows within them. The church welcomes these women inside its doors blessing them for carrying the Gift of Life.

Our guide welcomed the ladies to come forward for a photo to mark the Gift of Life celebrated circa 110 years ago when their grandmother – Marie Oline Gustavsdatter Bjartnes – was sprinkled at the Stiklestad Baptismal Font.

Eternal King of Norway

Our guide exuded passion for this place of Stiklestad:

its history,
present
and future

in connection with Norway's
Patron Saint Olav.

He explained how Olav was a descendant of Viking King Harald Fairhair. Olav's father, Harald Grenske, died before his birth. Olav was raised by his mother and stepfather on a grand farm in Ringerike. At age 12, Olav left on his first viking voyage.

According to the saga, Olav was of medium height, strong and stout, bold and well-spoken, and emerged victorious in several battles as a young sea king. Some say Olav inherited the Fairhair clan's characteristics of greed, savagery and licentiousness as well as the abilities to organize and rule.

Olav's passion became redirected when at age 18 he was introduced to the Christian faith and baptized, most likely while voyaging in France.

Before the time of Harald Fairhair, Norway was unorganized and loosely divided into small kingdoms. Toward the end of the ninth century, Harald Fairhair had unified a Norwegian state. The century following his death was marred by power struggles between provinces and families. Two earls rose to rule.


In 1014, Olav and his ships were at Gibraltar. He heard a voice saying: Return to your allodium, for you shall be King of Norway for eternity. He did not understand, but realized it as a sign to head north. Olav Haraldsson began to consider himself the rightful Norwegian royal heir.

(Our guide directed our eyes to another sign: this mural under the south window in the Stiklestad Church which displays Olav falling asleep before his final battle in 1030 and dreaming of his being hailed the king to successfully unify Norway.)


In 1015, Olav returned from his viking voyages, was soon declared king, went onto challenge the Earls of Laude and their allies and came out victorious in a battle near Nesjar on Palm Sunday 1016.


Although Olav was hailed king, Norway remained divided, politically and religiously. Powerful chieftains controlled the vast areas of land. The Viking era was nearing its end. Old chieftains could no longer rely on overseas naval raids to enrich themselves. Power transferred to those utilizing the land's agricultural resources.

Olav's reign emphasized law and order to an extent greater than his predecessors. Offenders who tried to buy freedom with gold and riches were decapitated. Thieves lost their hands and feet. "With sharp weapons, he did away with many vikings," said his court poet in the poem Årvedråpa.

That was just the start of the vendetta against Olav. Area farmers turned against Olav when this king took his Christian faith to a new level, outlawing pagan cults with the harsh penalties, even death, for those in defiance.

Together with Bishop Grimkjell, Olav laid the foundation for the organized Norwegian church, including Christian courts, provisions for annual freeing of serfs, the outlawing of polygamy and abandoning newborns in the forest, as well as harsh penalties for rape and robbery of women.

All this came to a head in 1028 when Danish King Canute the Great made an alliance with several petty Norwegian kings. Canute sent gifts to people around the country to offer friendship and as an undermining chance to conquer the country. The chieftains saw a victory by Canute as an opportunity to regain freedoms that Olav had revoked. Their powerful allegiance with the Danish king forced Olav north into exile in Gardarike (Russia). Canute was hailed king. He installed 17-year-old Håkon Eiriksson as governor of Norway. The following summer Håkon drowned.

Olav saw his chance to recapture the throne. He had no significant allies. His brutality had made him unpopular among chieftains, peasants and his own family for having exterminated some as rival heirs. Yet his passion to unite Norway held strong.

Olav gathered an army on his was through Sweden and in July 1030 crossed the Verdal mountains into Trøndelag.

Peasant armies rose up to protect their lives and property against Olav, the King whom they felt had acted unjustly against them. On July 30, 1030, Olav and his army reached Stiklestad where they faced twice their number in peasant soldiers. The King's army soon decimated. According to legend, Olav died of ax wounds to his foot and throat and a spear to his gut.


Miracles began occurring immediately. During battle, a soldier – who inflicted one of the king's mortal wounds – had himself received a cut to his hand. When the soldier later came into contact with the king's blood, his wound no longer needed bandaging and healed quickly (as depicted in this mural below).

Supporters of Olav secretively moved his body to Trondheim for burial in the dunes of the river Nidelva. Before long at his gravesite, people began reporting miracles: sight restored to the blind; hearing to the deaf; speech to the mute.

To pagans, these signs represented a divine king. To Christians, a saint. "By the King's consent and verdict of all people," Bishop Grimkjell sanctified Olav. A spring soon burst forth at Olav's first burial site. Those who were ill and drank of its waters reported restored health.

A year after the battle, Olav's body was exhumed and found fresh with its hair and beard having kept growing. Word spread. Thousands throughout Europe began pilgrimaging to Trondheim for healing, Christian conversion and worship. A century later, Olav's body was laid in the Nidaros Cathedral.

Following, Olav's death, the Danish king's mistress and son were sent to rule Norway. Their authoritarian ways were not to the chieftains' liking. Thus, the perception of Olav changed. Things he had accomplished were appreciated in hindsight. Rallying around St. Olav provided a valuable tool for unifying a new Norwegian state and church in the centuries to come.

Our guide put his arms over the Olav under the south window and then raised his arms to the Christ mural behind the altar to explain, like Christ, Olav lost his life as an earthly king so that a nation could be born – one where he would reign eternal.

On July 30, 1030, a new unified nation of Norway took root with Saint Olav as "Rex Perpetuss Norvegia" – the Eternal King of Norway.

(Note: In commemoration, the people raised an altar here on the spot where the king fell in that Battle of Stiklestad.)

Stiklestad Church

We arrived at Stiklestad,

parked in the lot and

had a look

around the grounds

while Kjell went

to get the guide

who would lead us

inside the church.






I was amazed

at the development

of this Cultural Center

since my first visit here

thirteen years ago

in the Fall of 1995.










We proceeded

across the street

to the church

where Grandma Lena

had celebrated milestones

early in her life.








We
looked
back

and

up

at
the
steeple,








noticed

the

ancient

masonry

work,







and

the

tools

of

repair

as

we

waited




at the back door of the Stiklestad Church.

The Birch Avenue

From the Verdal Chapel, we set off on our journey to the Stiklestad Church – where Grandma Lena was baptized and confirmed.

To get there, we drove a paved road lined with birches and bordered by a pedestrian path, which locals refer to as "Bjørkealleen" – the longest birch avenue in Northern Europe.

Groundwork for this wonder began more than two hundred years ago under the direction of officer and architect Lorentz Diderich Kluwer. At the turn of the 20th century, locals opted to redesign and plant only birch trees along the avenue, which then became affectionately referred to as Norway's Champ’s Elysees.


As we drove the three-kilometer route, we watched people rollerblade, bike and walk The Birch Avenue.