Miniguides

St Olav Romboway is the oldest pilgrimage route in the Nordic countries and an important connection between two great Nordic saints; St Olav and Saint Birgitta from Sweden.

Romboleden is the Swedish name.

Walk in the footsteps of the pilgrims

Romboleden (Rombo Way) is a pilgrimage route that people began using in the 11th century. The Romboleden is Sweden’s longest pilgrimage route at 900 kilometres long. It starts in Köping in Västmanland and finishes in Trondheim on the Norwegian Atlantic coast. If you walk the entire trail, you will experience a beautiful and varied landscape. You will walk on old chalet paths, over mountains with magnificent vistas and along narrow country gravel roads. You will find easy one-day walks with cafés along the way, and long treks that take several days. The route often passes through small villages.

St. Olav and the time of pilgrimages

Pilgrims started flocking to Trondheim because the Norwegian king Olav is buried in Nidaros Cathedral in the city. He was the first king to unify Norway and he also converted to Christianity. He is then believed to have fled from Norway to Köping, where he borrowed boats and made his way to Novgorod in Russia. St. Olav was canonised in 1031 and for 500 years Nidaros Cathedral was an important goal for pilgrims. But during the 16th century Sweden went through the Reformation, the country ceased to be Catholic, and pilgrimages ceased.

Pilgrim pass and Romboleden

The modern Romboleden has got its name from the old name for the plain near Mälaren, Rombo or Rumbo land, as described by the men from Dalarna. The Way follows the original medieval route as far as possible. It is marked with red and grey St. Olav symbols and the stages go from church to church. Each section of the Romboleden is looked after by local volunteers from local authorities, parishes and local associations. Would you like to walk with a Pilgrim’s Pass and collect stamps from each stage? The medieval Pilgrim’s Pass allowed a pilgrim to walk in the whole of Europe without being stopped by rules or boundaries. These days it is just a nice memento. The Pilgrim’s Pass can be collected at several stage starting points and from the web page of Rombo Way.