Nidarosdomen

Before I leave Trondheim, I want to share some more photos of the Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen) with you.

The main entrance to the cathedral in the daytime was a door in the north wall. This is where we entered for sightseeing and vespers.

A rather cute (and snake-like) dragon over our entrance. The dragon was typical of romanesque decor.

Next to the main north entrance was another entry, with some fancy detailing of its own.

Sharp eyes may notice that there are two building styles going on here: Romanesque, with rounded doorways and windows, on the east end (left on photo), and newer gothic details with pointed windows and doorways as we move west. This is because the cathedral was built in stages and adapted whatever was the fashion during construction.

Above the doorways on the north wall were some creative water spouts.

Another water spout. And isn't that copper roof gorgeous?

I ignored our local guide and instead ran up to the top of the bleachers in front of the cathedral's spectacular west side. The bleachers were there for some concert that evening and were perfect for photographers looking for better angles.

The elaborate west side of the cathedral.

Nidaros Cathedral was built by experienced masons who also built cathedrals in England and France (the migratory workers of their day), and is also one reason why the cathedral doesn't look very Norwegian. Each mason would mark a stone to show where he left off work for the day, and it was also how his boss knew how much to pay him. On the following photo, you see some X's that were left by one mason.

A mason's "bookmark" to show how far he'd built that day.