Heimdal is the southernmost borough in
Trondheimis a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
named after the god
HeimdallHeimdall is one of the Æsir in Norse mythology, called the "whitest of the gods" . Heimdall is the guardian of the gods and of the link between Midgard and Asgard, the Bifrost Bridge...
in
Norse mythologyNorse, North Germanic, or Scandinavian mythology comprises the myths of North Germanic pre-Christian religion.Most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled in medieval Iceland in Old Norse, notably as the Edda....
. The area has been continuously inhabited since at least the
Iron AgeIn archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.The...
, and is rich in
archaeological siteAn archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological recordBeyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
s.
The area around the
railway stationHeimdal Station is a railway station located in Heimdal in Trondheim, Norway. Located 12 km south of Trondheim Central Station on Dovrebanen, it is served by express trains between Trondheim and Oslo as well as the regional train services Trønderbanen and Nabotåget, all operated by Norges...
was until 1964 the center of two separate local
municipalities|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
,
TillerTiller is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway.It was created by a split from Klæbu on 1 January 1899. At that time Tiller had a population of 533....
and
LeinstrandLeinstrand is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Leinstrand formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 1,165....
. The western part of Heimdal consists of the rural areas of
BynesetByneset is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Byneset formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 2,143...
, also a separate municipality until 1964. The eastern part of Heimdal, Tillerbyen, is a recent development, planned to ease the pressure on central Trondheim from the commercial boom in the city.
The area where Tillerbyen has been built was initially
swampA swamp is a wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a substantial number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types...
, but it was drained in the 1930s as an
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
was planned here.
| |
| Heimdal |
|
| Inhabitants: |
12,219 (Heimdal proper)
27,388 (Heimdal area) |
Heimdal is the southernmost borough in
Trondheimis a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
named after the god
HeimdallHeimdall is one of the Æsir in Norse mythology, called the "whitest of the gods" . Heimdall is the guardian of the gods and of the link between Midgard and Asgard, the Bifrost Bridge...
in
Norse mythologyNorse, North Germanic, or Scandinavian mythology comprises the myths of North Germanic pre-Christian religion.Most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled in medieval Iceland in Old Norse, notably as the Edda....
. The area has been continuously inhabited since at least the
Iron AgeIn archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.The...
, and is rich in
archaeological siteAn archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological recordBeyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
s.
The area around the
railway stationHeimdal Station is a railway station located in Heimdal in Trondheim, Norway. Located 12 km south of Trondheim Central Station on Dovrebanen, it is served by express trains between Trondheim and Oslo as well as the regional train services Trønderbanen and Nabotåget, all operated by Norges...
was until 1964 the center of two separate local
municipalities|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
,
TillerTiller is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway.It was created by a split from Klæbu on 1 January 1899. At that time Tiller had a population of 533....
and
LeinstrandLeinstrand is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Leinstrand formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 1,165....
. The western part of Heimdal consists of the rural areas of
BynesetByneset is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Byneset formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 2,143...
, also a separate municipality until 1964. The eastern part of Heimdal, Tillerbyen, is a recent development, planned to ease the pressure on central Trondheim from the commercial boom in the city.
History of Tillerbyen
The area where Tillerbyen has been built was initially
swampA swamp is a wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a substantial number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types...
, but it was drained in the 1930s as an
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
was planned here. The
German invaders of 1940Operation Weserübung was the code name for Nazi Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
halted these plans, as they rather wanted an airport at
LadeLade is a location in Trondheim, Norway, located north-east of the city centre, north of Lademoen on a peninsula. The area is dominated by suburban housing, superstores, industry and some recreational areas, and is zoned for high car access...
.
In 1963 the municipality of Trondheim bought the areas, and in 1966 they verified a development plan for a new tertiary and commercial hub that could lighten the development pressure on the crowded downtown areas.
These plans met much resistance; many politicians thought the development would be too hard to complete, as the
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
was too wet and unstable to support large-scale development. Critics were proven wrong.
Ever since the first developments, the areas of Tillerbyen and Sjetnemarka have been one of the most booming parts of the city and still, large development projects are launched to meet the growing population pressure.
Today
Heimdal proper is a traditional communication and trading center; the railway has connections to
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
(Nabotåget, literally meaning
the neighbour train), to
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
and the south of Norway via
DovrebanenThe Dovre Line main line of the Norwegian railway system between Oslo and Trondheim, though the 64 km section south of Eidsvoll is the Gardermo Line, and the only high-speed line in the country. The line between Eidsvoll and Dombås is from old times the Eidsvoll–Dombås Line. The line from Støren...
as well as to the north. Many buslines also connect here.
In addition to the large residential areas, Heimdal houses many of the city's leading
enterprisesA company is a form of business organization.In the United States, a company is a corporation—or, less commonly, an association, partnership, or union—that carries on an industrial enterprise." Generally, a company may be a "corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company,...
and services.
City SydCity Syd is one of the largest shopping centres in Norway, and the largest in Midt-Norge, with a turnover of NOK 1.7 billion in 2004. It lies in Tiller, about 10 km south of the center of Trondheim. City Syd opened in 1987 and was remodeled and expanded in 2000. It is now 38,000 m² and...
was at the time of its construction the largest
shopping mallA shopping mall, shopping centre or shopping center is a building or multiple buildings consisting of a complex of shops representing leading merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a convenient parking area – a modern,...
in the country and is still one of the most profitable shopping malls in Northern Europe, as it receives customers not only from the city, but from the surrounding countryside and neighbouring counties as well. Heimdal Stadion is a large sports complex with soccer and handball fields adjacent to the Breidablikk School. The headquarters of the local newspaper,
AdresseavisenAdresseavisen is a regional newspaper published daily, except Sundays, in Trondheim, Norway. It is an independent, conservative newspaper with a daily circulation of approximately 85,000. It is also informally known as Adressa. The newspaper covers the areas of Trøndelag and Nordmøre.Adresseavisen...
, is also located in Heimdal.
Heimdal is today a city within a city. The central areas of Tillerbyen resemble a typical western downtown area with high commercial structures, as opposed to the traditional downtown areas of Trondheim, which are dominated by old, two-storey buildings.