Development of a Cultural History World Heritage Site

Olavsarven is an important cultural heritage for the Nordic Grønne Belte. The project will increase the attractiveness of St Olavsleden by building a cross-border natural and cultural historical infrastructure for hikers and developing the partnership for sustainable and long-term growth. The starting point of the project is that there is a natural cross-border added value that needs to be developed and clarified, but there is also a cross-border challenge. The challenge lies in getting the 58 km long trail from Selånger to Nidaros to be connected thematically and that the trail is tied together from start to finish.

Olavsarven er viktig kulturarv for Nordens Grønne Belte. Prosjektet ska öka St Olavsledens attraktivitet genom att bygga en gränsöverskridande natur- och kulturhistorisk infrastruktur för vandrare och utveckla partnerskapet för en hållbar och långsiktig tillväxt. Utgångspunkten i projektet är att det finns ett naturligt gränsöverskridande mervärde som behöver utvecklas och tydliggöras, men det finns även en gränsöverskridande utmaning. Utmaningen ligger i att få den 58 mil långa leden från Selånger till Nidaros att hänga ihop tematiskt och att leden bindes ihop från start till mål.

The history of St. Olav is an important cultural heritage for the Nordic region’s green belt. The project is aimed to increase St Olavsleden’s attractiveness by building a crossborder natural and cultural-historical infrastructure for pilgrims, and developing the partnership for sustainable and long-term growth. The starting point in the project has been that there is a natural added value across the border that must be developed and clarified, but it will be challenging to achieve this. The 58 km long trail from Selånger to Nidaros will be connected thematically and that the trail will be connected from start to finish. Activities: During this project, many activities have been carried out to develop the infrastructure, communicate the history of St. Olav and strengthen St. Olavsleden as a connected link across national borders. Among other things, five “week-hubs”, or pilgrim centers as they have chosen to call themselves have been established (Selånger, Ånge / Borgsjö, Bräcke / Gällö, Frösön and Åre). At the pilgrim centers, information, water, electricity, toilets and coffee are available to the pilgrims. A podcast has been made that contains guest lectures, the Pilgrim Podcast – In St. Olav’s footsteps. So far 3900 downloads from Spotify have been made: https://open.spotify.com/show/02OWJ3ClS9cH8tO3gnWe1v. A concept has also been created for week long group-tours with a guide, this has not been possible to implement due to the pandemic, but the concept can be developed and used in other contexts. Other activities following the communication plan has been: -9 guest lectures (230 participants), – 32 occasions with hikes of between 5-15 km (1525 hikers), – 102 visiting associations have received information about St. Olav, the trail and the pilgrimage (2,042 participants), – 58 visiting companies and public organizations have received similar information (1,474 participants). Two portable exhibitions have been developed, the first covering the time after Olav Haraldsson’s life, called “In the footsteps of Saint Olav”. The second exhibition deals with the area and life in the 1000s, as well as Olav Haraldsson’s life. The latter contains both nature and culture. A digital, international database of Olav history/heritage has also been developed, with Stiklestad National Cultural Center as the prosjekt lead in this. They will also take over the responsibility and further development of this database in the future. A pilgrim bracelet has also been developed with meaningful charms / charms with design and material that symbolize different parts of the region and the legend. Continuation: The project has brought us closer together. We have moved from the first thoughts about a local project, directly linked to Selånger, to the fact that it is now completely natural to collaborate between Swedish and Norwegian partners along the entire St. Olavsleden. We see so clearly how our common Nordic history connects both countries and peoples. It feels right and natural to continue the collaboration that has started.