CHAP. V.

TRÖNŸEM.

Public Buildings-Cathedral-Church of Nôtre DameHospital, and Baklan Church-Latin School-Public Library-Antiquities found in the Isle of Lekoe-Other Rarities-Schools-Asylum for Widows-Almshouses— Arsenal-Fortress of Christiansteen-Fortress of Munkholm-Narrative of Count Griffenfeld's ConfinementCustom House, and Town Hall-Other Public WorksCourts of Justice-Education of the Lower OrdersFair-Anecdotes of Two Finn-Lapps-Military Force of the Government-Manners of the InhabitantsEntertainments-Cascades of Leer Fossen-Friendship of the Norwegians towards the English-National Prejudices-Aphorisms-Lake Törgvillan-Route to North Cape-Prospects-Skill of the Natives in carving wood

Wild

V.

Wild Animals-Horticulture-Kale raby-Longevity of the Norwegians-Mons. De Latochnaye.

CHAP. THERE are not less than eighteen Public Edifices in Trönÿem. We shall mention all of them, in Buildings. numerical order.

Public

Cathedral. I. THE CATHEDRAL.- This is an antient Gothic structure, of great pristine beauty; though now so disfigured by modern repairs, by the ravages of frequent fires that have taken place in the city, and by the hand of time, that little of its original perfection remains: judging, however, from the parts which are still entire, there is enough to prove that it was one of the most magnificent ecclesiastical structures in Europe; and, according to the accounts given of it, there was nothing in all Christendom to equal this Cathedral in elegance and grandeur'. It bears date so early as the eleventh, some say the

(1) The author of the work before cited, mentioring another destructive fire that happened in Trönÿem in 1530, thus describes the splendour and beauty of this Cathedral. "Accessit A. 1530, alterum incendium, quod templum Cathedrale corripiens, et in cineres redigens, nil nisi sacram Cellam, seu Chorum, ut vocant, reliquit. In eo hodie cultus divinus canendo, precando et concionando peragitur. Edificium fuit magnificentissimum, cætera totius Europæ templa omnia splendore supe. rans, imo in toto Christiano orbe, ut quidam affirment, sibi simile, aut par, non habens, sive artificium, sive amplitudinem spectes. Structura omnis quadrato lapide, et collumnis pulcherrimis, atque artificiosissimis unumquemque in admirationem rapiebat: quod facile patet ex ruderibus, et parietinis, quas ipsi temporum injuriæ reliquas fecerunt." Delic. sive Amanit. Regn. Daniæ, &c. p. 1226. L. Bat. 1706.

V.

tenth century; and was, in former ages, the CHAP. resort of pilgrims from various parts of Europe. Part of the architecture is Saxon; the rest Gothic. Those who have seen the splendid remains of the Cathedral at Elgin in Scotland, will be able to call to mind something similar; but there is perhaps no other Gothic building now remaining which exhibits the same degree of lightness and airy elegance in the architecture. The sculpture decorating the arches, pillars, and doors, is of the most exquisite kind. Over the western entrance, which consisted of three portals finished in the highest style of Gothic beauty, there were statues of the size of life, profusely gilded. Some of those figures still remain, executed in a style of excellence, especially as to the drapery, which would not discredit the sculpture of Antient Greece. Formerly, a library of rare and valuable books belonged to this Cathedral; but most of them are now destroyed or lost. The inhabitants pretend that a complete manuscript of the works of Livy existed in this library; but that being taken to Bremen, it was removed to the Vatican at Rome; since which, all search after it has been made in vain. An arch of the most admirable workmanship separates the nave from the chancel. Over the altar we saw a large picture of the Crucifixion,

V.

CHAP. a copy, tolerably well executed, from Daniel de Volterra. Near the altar, concealed by a door, there is a well, said to be that of St. Olaus, who first introduced Christianity into Norway. The western part of the nave is now without a roof: at that part of it which joined the centre of the building, opposite to the altar, stands a large organ. This Cathedral has suffered seven times by fire; but even the destructive element, so often directed towards its overthrow, has not disfigured it more than the modern reparations used to preserve it from total ruin. Here we saw Bishop Pontoppidan's Epitaph, who was born in 1616, and died in 1678. It is a long Latin inscription, commemorating his merits and travels. Over it are the portraits of the Bishop, his wife, his son, and a young daughter. There are no other inscriptions worth notice. The most antient are in Gothic characters, but these are almost effaced.

Church of

Nôtre
Dame.

II. THE CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME.-This is a plain and decent building, externally whitewashed, situate in the eastern street from the square, opposite to the principal inn. It contains an organ. The first morning after our arrival, seeing carriages waiting at the door of this church, we entered, and were present at the marriage of two servants, belonging to dif

ferent families in the city; upon which occasions, their masters and mistresses, according to custom, attend in full dresses, accompanying the bride and bridegroom in their carriages. The service had nearly concluded, when we entered. The bride was in a pew upon the left, with three other ladies. Her head and waist were entirely covered with flowers'; and her hair, curled and powdered, was in full frizzle. The bridegroom, in an opposite pew upon the right, was attended by an officer and two other gentlemen. A large posy, according to a custom noticed by our Poet Spenser', was placed before him. The priest was singing at the altar, ascompanied by the organ: when he had finished, he passed out by a door behind the altar, and the ceremony ended. The bride and bridegroom were first handed to their carriage, and the attendant ladies and gentlemen followed after; the whole affording an honourable proof of the reverence in which wedlock is held, among the respectable inhabitants of this city,

CHAP.

V.

See

(1) Corresponding with the Customs of the Antient Grecians. the passage in Euripides, where Clytemnestra tells Achilles she had crowned Iphigenia for the wedding.—Iphig. in Aul. v. 903.

(2)

"With stone of vermeil roses,

To deck the bridegroom's posies." Spenser.