
|
Munholmen is an islet about two kilometer (one mile) off the Trondheim harbor. |

|
A thousand years ago its name was Niğarhólmr (Nidarholm) and it was used for executions. About 1100 (maybe earlier) a Benedictine monastery was built on the islet and this lasted until the Lutheran Reformation about 1537. The name Munkholmen ("Monk Islet") came into use maybe a century after the monks had left. A fortress was built there in 1660. It was rebuilt several times and was in active, though noncombatant use until 1893. The fortress also served as a national penitentiary between 1680 and 1850 |