The area is located on the northern end of the town, on a peninsula in the Vågsfjorden.

According to tradition, the first Christians in Northern Norway were baptised, perhaps as early as the year 999, in the small pond, Laugen, just west of Trondenes Church.

There are burial mounds from around 1020 located at Altevågen, a short distance north of the church.

[2] Prior to the area becoming a part of the urban town of Harstad, the area near the church was a separate village which was the administrative centre of the large Trondenes Municipality which existed from 1838 until 1964, when it became part of Harstad Municipality.

The first element is the genitive case of the word þróndr which means "hog", referring to the shape of a nearby mountain.