If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 17

Trondhjem town square with Augustin Hotel, mailed 1920

I.C. Lee had several friends who traveled and would send him postcards from time to time. This card was among the few that survived the years and is of a snowy scene in the streets of Trondhjem, Sør Trøndelag, Norway with the town square and the Augustin Hotel. Even though it shows a winter scene the card is dated the 27th of June 1920 and sent by O. B. Engen. The hotel was built in 1915 with funds from a man from Trøndelag who had emigrated from Norway to America and made his fortune building hospitals. The hotel was originally known as the Grand Hotel. The architect was Morten Anker Bachke. For more about the hotel see http://www.hotel-augustin.no/about.htm

With a population of more than 173,000 Trondhjem is the third largest city in Norway. It was founded in 997 and was the capital of Norway during the Viking Age up until 1217. The Nidaros Cathedral was also a religious destination for pilgrims in the middle ages and was the seat of the Archdiocese of Nidaros from 1152-1537. If you want to get some feeling of how it was to live in the Middle Ages in Norway Sigrid Undset’s trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter is worth reading.

Trondhjem has a rich history, everything from being a military center, a place for free men to assemble, a place where the Kings of Norway were hailed, a religious center, and today known for the University of Science and Technology, St. Olav’s University Hospital and other technology-oriented institutions.

The old city was originally a city of wooden buildings and as such has suffered several major fires that caused severe damage. One fire in 1651 destroyed 90% of all the buildings within the city. After another horrible fire in 1681 an effort was made to prevent such devastating fires in the future by creating broad avenues as fire breaks. The city has not always been as large as it is today, as the years have gone by it has expanded by annexing in neighboring smaller communities. For more information about Trondhjem please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trondheim

This card shows the coronation parade of 1905 in Trondhjem with the famous Nidaros Cathedral in the background.