On 16 February 2022 Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU organised its first meeting in presence and a workshop with local partners involved in the rurAllure pilot “Ethnographic Heritage on the ways to Trondheim“. The pilot studies heritage in a perspective of how people have lived their lives along the St. Olav’s ways – the pilgrimage route to Trondheim.  The research is focused on how cultural, religious and societal aspects create rich historic heritage in the vicinity of the route.  

This first of the series workshop was hosted at the outdoor and indoor museum of Maihaugen, part of the Stiftelsen Lillehammer Museum. All pilot partners – Stiftelsen Lillehammer Museum, National Pilgrim Center and Mjøsmuseet AS – contributed to the workshop, moderated by the NTNU associate professor Mari Bjerck and assistants Eira Taksdal and Ida Parelius. 

The event was focused on identification of the main points of interests along the route, development of central narratives and at the same time brainstorming activities for the 2022 pilgrim season. The participants had a chance to visit Maihaugen’s outdoor and indoor collections of historic buildings and artefacts stemming from both the religious and everyday history and life of the local area. 

Maihaugen is Norway’s largest open-air museum, with more than 200 historic houses from various times. The beautiful 13th-century Garmo stave church and the Fisherman Chapel of 1459 have testified the importance of religion over the centuries. In Maihaugen you can experience everything from farm life in the 1890s to Queen Sonja’s childhood home. It also demonstrates what an inland village might have looked like in the early 1900s.  

Photo credits: Ida Parelius / Eira Taksdal / Ivar Bae