| Official Name: | Stiklestad |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 11 |
| Mapframe-Marker: | village |
| Pushpin Map: | Trøndelag#Norway |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Norway |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central Norway |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Trøndelag |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Innherred |
| Subdivision Type4: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name4: | Verdal Municipality |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +01:00 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +02:00 |
| Postal Code Type: | Post Code |
| Postal Code: | 7650 Verdal |
| Coordinates: | 63.796°N 11.5588°W |
| Elevation M: | 18 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
Stiklestad[2] is a village in Verdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located east of the town of Verdalsøra and about southeast of the village of Forbregd/Lein.
The village is mainly known as the site of the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Stiklestad Church is located in the village and it is assumed to have been erected on the exact spot where King Olaf II Haraldsson fell in the battle. The king was buried in Nidaros (Trondheim), canonised there on 3 August 1031, and later enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral. Following the Lutheran reformation of 1537 the saint's remains were removed and their precise resting-place has been unknown since 1568. The village is currently a Church of Norway parish and the seat of the Stiklestad prosti.
The Old Norse form of the name is Norse, Old: Stiklarstaðir. The first element is Norse, Old: stikl which might have been derived from the verb which means "to jump" or "hop over stepping stones" (possibly referring to crossing a brook or stream). This might have been the name of a nearby brook. The last element is which means "farm" or "abode".[3]
In the 13th century Gesta Danorum, or "The History of the Danes," Saxo Grammaticus recorded that the town was named after Stikla, a shield-maiden who was most famous for raiding with the Viking captain Rusla (Rusla was known as "The Red Maiden" for her brutal raids on Irish ships.) Stikla would have settled in the area at some point after her participation in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
Given King Olav II’s role in the spread of Christianity in Norway, Stiklestad has been a significant site in Norwegian national culture since the 1030 battle. There has been an Olav memorial there since medieval times.
Between 1934 and 1944 Vidkun Quisling’s Nationalist Nasjonal Samling party held a number of rallies at Stiklestad, in an attempt to link the party to Norway’s historic past.[4] A special Nasjonal Samling monument was inaugurated there in July 1944, before being demolished a year later after the fall of Quisling's government.[5]
Since 1954 an annual the Saint Olav Drama, a re-enactment of the days leading up to the battle of 1030, has taken place at a specially built amphitheatre at Stiklestad.[6] [7]
In 1995, a Parliamentary decree established Stiklestad National Culture Centre (no|Stiklestad Nasjonale Kultursenter) at Stiklestad to promote the story and heritage of Saint Olaf, including the annual Saint Olav Drama. There is also a folk museum, that includes a medieval farm, and a hotel housed in the same building as the Culture Centre.[8]
. Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Trondhjems amt . 1903 . W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri . 15 . Kristiania, Norge . 122 . no . Oluf Rygh.
