Stiftsgården, Trondheim, Guía del visitante y qué hacer cerca

Stiftsgården is the royal residence in Trondheim, Norway, a vast yellow wooden palace on the city's main street, Munkegata. Built in the 1770s as a private home, it has served royalty and their guests since 1800 and is possibly the largest wooden building in Northern Europe.

The story behind it

Stiftsgården was raised between 1774 and 1778 for Cecilie Christine Schøller, a wealthy widow, and it was one of the grandest private houses in the country. In 1800 it passed into official hands and began its long life as a royal residence in Trondheim. Today it is still used when the royal family visits the city.

The house has around 140 rooms and roughly 4000 square metres of floor space, all in timber. Its style is Baroque, with touches of Rococo and neoclassicism in the details. The architect is not known with certainty, and many of the craftsmen and artists behind the interiors were never recorded. The garden was once laid out in Baroque style with an orangery and an arbour, and a large part of it became a public park in 1906.

What to look for

• The long, symmetrical facade on Munkegata, which looks like stone from a distance but is built entirely of wood.
• The mix of styles, with strict Baroque proportions softened by Rococo and neoclassical touches.
• The sheer scale of the building, easiest to judge by walking along its full frontage on the street.
• The setting on Munkegata, the straight, wide street that links the city centre with the cathedral area.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 20 minutes to admire the outside and the street. Guided tours of the interior have been offered in summer, so check current opening hours and tour times before you plan around them.
• Soft morning or late afternoon light shows off the yellow facade best, and the street is calmer outside the middle of the day.
• It is a short walk to Nidaros Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace and the market square, so it pairs easily with a wider stroll through the centre.
• When the royal family is in residence, access can be restricted, so treat the exterior as the reliable part of the visit.

See it on a quest

Trondheim: Escape the Shadow Realm is a good way to see Stiftsgården in context. You reach the palace on foot as one stop of a longer route through the centre, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no set departure time.