K.U.K. / St Clement’s Church

St Clement’s Church is considered one of the oldest churches in Trondheim. According to saga tradition, it was built by Olav Tryggvason around the year 997, when he founded Nidaros. The church stood close to the royal residence and the old river course, in an area that was central to the earliest city. Later, Olav Haraldsson, Saint Olav, also became closely connected to this place. He is said to have rebuilt the church in 1016. After his death at Stiklestad in 1030, his body was brought back to Nidaros, and tradition also connects his early saintly story to this area. St Clement’s Church burned several times and eventually disappeared from the cityscape. In our own time, its remains have been found through archaeological excavations. These discoveries give us an important glimpse into Trondheim’s earliest Christian history, and into the transition from the Viking Age to the medieval city. Nearby stands K.U.K., a modern art and cultural centre. The name stands for Kjøpmannsgata Young Art, and the building represents a very different period from St Clement’s Church. Right here, some of the oldest and newest parts of Trondheim meet: the first traces of Christian royal power and today’s living art scene.