Trondheim, historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. With a population of 171,000, it is the third most populated municipality and fourth most populated city in the country. It is the country seat of Sør-Trøndelag. Trondheim lies on the south shore of the Trondheimsfjord at the mouth of the river Nidelva. The city is dominated by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), SINTEF, St. Olavs University Hospital and other technology-oriented institutions.
The settlement was founded in 997 as a trading post, and was the capital of Norway during the Viking Age until 1217. From 1152 to 1537, the city was the seat of the Archdiocese of Nidaros; since it has remained the seat of the Diocese of Nidaros and the Nidaros Cathedral. It was incorporated in 1838. The current municipality dates from 1964, when Trondheim merged with Byneset, Leinstrand, Strinda and Tiller.
Most of the downtown area is scattered with small specialty stores and shops, however a considerable part of the downtown shopping area is concentrated around the pedestrian street Nordre gate (English: Northern street) and the Olav Tryggvasons gate even though the rest of the city center also is riddled with everything from old, well established companies to new, hip and trendy shops.
In the mid- to late 1990s, the area surrounding the old drydock and ship construction buildings of the defunct Trondhjems mekaniske Værksted shipbuilding company at the Nedre Elvehavn were renovated and old industrial buildings were torn down to make way for condominiums. A shopping mall was also built, known as Solsiden (The Sunny Side). This is a popular residential and shopping area, especially for young people.
