Munkholmen, Trondheim

Trøndelag · Norwegen · Fortress

Earl Håkon's head was set on a stake here long before the monks arrived. Then the island became a state prison – and the count walled up for eighteen years is said never to have left.

The small island in the Trondheim fjord has four bloody lives behind it. According to Snorri, Munkholmen was already an execution site in the 900s: Olav Tryggvason had the heads of Earl Håkon and the thrall Kark set on stakes here in 995. Around 1028 a monastery, Nidarholm, was founded instead, whose monks sang so loudly at night that the townsfolk complained. In 1658 the island was rebuilt as a fortress and state prison for political prisoners, and the most famous of them – the Danish count Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld – was held here for eighteen years after losing the king's favour. Many hold that it is Griffenfeld who still walks the island, and over the years visitors have reported figures and footsteps in the empty casemates.

FAQ

Wo befindet sich Munkholmen, Trondheim?

Munkholmen, Trondheim liegt in Trøndelag, Norwegen.