An Art Hub Surrounded by Fjords and Forests
Founded by a Viking king in 997, Trondheim, in central Norway, was the Norwegian kingdom's capital for nearly 200 years. For centuries, the city was perhaps best known for its royal pedigree, thanks to its most prominent landmark, the opulent Nidaros cathedral. Begun in 1070, the edifice has since served as the site where many of the country's royals have been officially or ceremonially crowned, and as the end point of medieval pilgrimage routes.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Trondheim morphed into a college town: It's home to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, as well as several other universities. In the past decade or so, it's become a culinary destination as well — surrounded by fjords and farms, restaurants have easy access to fresh ingredients — and even more recently, it's established itself as a fledgling center of contemporary art.
Earlier this year, the art museum PoMo (the name is short for Posten Moderne, or Modern Post Office) opened in a 1911 post office in the town center, a few blocks from where the celebrated Norwegian artist Kjell Erik Killi-Olsen debuted his avant-garde art space, K.U.K., in 2021. PoMo, a collaboration between the Paris-based architect and designer India Mahdavi and the Norwegian architect Erik Langdalen, is a dramatic and joyful transformation of a 43,000-square-foot Art Nouveau building, now filled with the collection of the museum's founders, Trondheim natives Monica and Ole Robert Reitan, including works by Isa Genzken and Catherine Opie. A month later, in February, the Reitans also opened the lavishly designed Nye Hjorten theater next door. 'When I was growing up here, the city didn't even have a fine arts museum,' says the conceptual artist Ingar Dragset. 'It's very exciting what's happening in Trondheim at the moment.'
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