[2][3] Nidaros Cathedral was built beginning in 1070 to memorialize the burial place of Olav II of Norway, the king who was killed in 1030 in the Battle of Stiklestad.

Kristkirken was about 50 meters long with a choir, nave, and west tower, and it was the largest church in Norway at the time.

It was gradually replaced by new building parts in the 13th century, but its outline can be seen in the ground plan: as was often the case in the Middle Ages, the later walls were built on the old foundations to save time and costs.

During the restoration in the late 19th century, these foundations were excavated and measured, providing some knowledge of the church's architecture.

Major rebuilding and restoration of the cathedral started in 1869, initially led by architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer, and nearly completed by Christian Christie.

This was the site of the original high altar, with the reliquary casket of Saint Olav, and choir.

The space above the principal arch, corresponding to the vault of the choir, contains a crucifix by the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, placed between statues of the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John.

This silver-gilt reliquary casket was melted down for coinage by Christian II and St. Olav's remains buried in an unknown location under the cathedral.

Surviving medieval reliquary caskets in Norway frequently also bear such dragon heads, for instance, that at Heddal Stave Church.

The current altar was designed to recall in marble sculpture the essential form of this reliquary casket.

It was commissioned and paid for by Norwegian American emigrants in the early twentieth century, and the design was inspired by the memory of a similar silver crucifix in the medieval church.

This religious and cultural festival is centered upon the anniversary of the death of Saint Olav at the Battle of Stiklestad.

Tourists often follow the historic Pilgrim's Route (Norwegian: Pilegrimsleden) to visit the cathedral for this and other events.

The cathedral is also familiar to enthusiasts of Norwegian black metal, as it is featured on the cover artwork of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, the 1994 studio album by Mayhem.

It was rumored that members of the band who had already been associated with the burnings of other Christian churches in Norway had planned to destroy the cathedral[14] in relation to the release of the album.

When police arrested former Mayhem bassist Varg Vikernes on 19 August 1993 they had found 150 kilograms (330 lb) of explosives in his home.