Midtbyen is a borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 and comprises much of the city centre of Trondheim

Trondheim

Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Midtbyen proper is located north and east of the river Nidelva

Nidelva

Nidelva or Nidelven is a river in the county Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. Elva or Elven is Norwegian for river, so the name translates to "Nid River".-Location:...

, south of the Trondheim Canal and east of Ila

Ila, Trondheim

Ila is an area of Trondheim, Norway in the western part of the city centre, Midtbyen, limited by the river Nidelva in the south, Skansen in the north and Steinberget, Bymarka and Ilsvikøra in the west...

, thus being north of Øya

Øya

Øya is a location in Trondheim, Norway that is a peninsula in the river Nidelva, with Elgeseter to the east. The area is dominated by housing, but also features St. Olavs University Hospital as well as parts of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Sør-Trøndelag University College....

 and Elgeseter

Elgeseter

Elgeseter is a location in Trondheim, Norway located south and east of the river Nidelven, south of Midtbyen, east of Nidarø, west of Singsaker and north of Lerkendal. The name comes from Helgeseter, the name of Helgeseter Priory, an Augustinian abbey located at Elgeseter during the Middle...

, east of Bakklandet

Bakklandet

Bakklandet is a neighborhood of Trondheim, Norway. It lies on the east side of the river Nidelva between Bakke Bridge and the Old Town Bridge. The area is dominated by small, wooden houses and narrow streets...

 and south of Brattøra

Brattøra

Brattøra is an artificial island in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located at the mouth of the river Nidelva just north of the city centre , west of Nyhavna, and south of Trondheimsfjord. There is a canal that divides the mainland from what is now the island of...

. The Midtbyen borough also comprises the areas of Ila, Byåsen

Byåsen

Byåsen is a district in the city of Trondheim, Norway, situated to the west of the city centre. This is mainly a residential area, with 32 136 residents as of January 1, 2003. The name Byåsen can be translated into "City Hill", which describes its elevated position, overlooking the rest of...

, Trolla

Trolla

Trolla is a village in the municipality of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the Trondheimsfjord on the north coast of the Bymarka area, about northeast of Langørjan and about northwest of Ila. The village has a population of 473. The population density of the...

 and Stavne

Stavne

Stavne is a neighborhood in Trondheim, Norway. It is located on the west shore of the river Nidelva, east of Byåsen. It lays across the river from Elgeseter....

.

The area is primarily a commercial area with office buildings and stores

Retailing

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

, though there is also some dense housing. The westernmost part of Midtbyen is dominated by housing, while commercial interests dominate the eastern section. In the middle of Midtbyen is the square Trondheim Torg that features a statue of the city's founder, Olav Tryggvason.

History

Midtbyen dates back to viking age

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

 when it started as a marketplace. It was formerly called Kaupangen (Marketplace) by Olav Tryggvason and later Nidaros (Norse: Niðaróss). The original marketplace of Trondheim grew up around the mouth of the Nid River. In the 11th century Nidaros was turned into the Archiepiscopate of Nidaros and for a period, until 1217, capital of Norway. Midtbyen and the immediate surrounding area remained the only settled area of Trondheim until the late 19th century when the city started expanding outside the Midtbyen limits. The name Midtbyen dates back to after the merging of Trondheim with the surrounding municipalities

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in the 1960s.

Transport

As the centre of the city, Midtbyen serves as the most important transportation hub

Transportation hub

A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, seaports and truck...

 in Trondheim. Public transport has its main hub at Munkegata Terminal

Munkegata Terminal

Munkegata Terminal is the main bus station in Trondheim, Norway. All buses to and from Trondheim, with the sole exception of the Airport Express Bus and TrønderBilene stops at the terminal, that is located on the streets of Munkegata and Dronningens gate on Trondheim Torg in Midtbyen...

 at Trondheim Torg while the Trondheim Tramway

Trondheim Tramway

Trondheim Tramway located in Trondheim, Norway consists presently of one 8.8 km tramway line, Gråkallbanen, from St. Olav's Gate in the city centre through Byåsen to Lian Station in Bymarka...

 terminates at St. Olavs gate

St. Olavs Gate (station)

St. Olavs Gate or St. Olav's Street is the terminus of Gråkallbanen, the remains of the Trondheim Tramway in Trondheim, Norway. The station serves the city center and is located two blocks from the bus station at Munkegata. It is located on St...

. Just over the canal on Brattøra

Brattøra

Brattøra is an artificial island in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located at the mouth of the river Nidelva just north of the city centre , west of Nyhavna, and south of Trondheimsfjord. There is a canal that divides the mainland from what is now the island of...

 is Trondheim Central Station

Trondheim Central Station

Trondheim Central Station or Trondheim S is the main railway station serving the city of Trondheim, Norway. Located at Brattøra in the north part of the city center, it is the terminus of the Dovre Line, running southwards, and the Nordland Line, which runs north...

 providing both local and express train services. In the summer there is also a ferry to Munkholmen

Munkholmen

Munkholmen is an islet north of Trondheim, Norway. It sits in the Trondheimsfjord about northwest of the island of Brattøra and the mouth of the river Nidelva. The islet has served as a place of execution, a monastery, a fortress, prison, and a World War II anti-aircraft gun station...

 from Ravnkloa.

Institutions

The southern part of Midtbyen is dominated by places of worship

Place of worship

A place of worship or house of worship is an establishment or her location where a group of people comes to perform acts of religious study, honor, or devotion. The form and function of religious architecture has evolved over thousands of years for both changing beliefs and architectural style...

, including the Nidarosdomen while the southwestern sections of Midtbyen, Kalvskinnet

Kalvskinnet

Kalvskinnet is an area of Trondheim, Norway, southwest in city centre, Midtbyen bordering the river Nidelva in the south. In Sverris saga the place is called akeren. The city is dominated by public offices, including such institutions as the Norwegian University of Science and Technology,...

, hosts the engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 and computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

 faculty of Sør-Trøndelag University College

Sør-Trøndelag University College

Sør-Trøndelag University College or HiST is a Norwegian university college located in Trondheim. The school offers higher education within nursing, teaching, economics, food science, engineering and information technology...

 and the institute of archeology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology , commonly known as NTNU, is located in Trondheim. NTNU is the second largest of the eight universities in Norway, and, as its name suggests, has the main national responsibility for higher education in engineering and technology...

. The central area of Midtbyen is dominated by financial institutions, including the corporate headquarters of Sparebanken Midt-Norge

Sparebanken Midt-Norge

Sparebanken Midt-Norge is a Norwegian savings bank based in Trøndelag.Sparebanken Midt-Norge has 71 branches in 51 municipalities in Central Norway and is part of the bank alliance SpareBank 1. In Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag the bank is branded SpareBank 1 Midt-Noge while it is branded...

, BNbank and Fokus Bank

Fokus Bank

Fokus Bank is a brand name for Danske Bank's Norwegian operation. Danske Bank has long been one of the largest banks in Scandinavia.Fokus Bank has 41 local branches spread around all of Norway. The main office is in Trondheim and the bank employs approximately 1,000 workers...

.