The old post roads linked Norway together. The Directorate for Cultural Heritage is now allocating NOK 400,000 to a project that will highlight the Trondhjem postal road.
- "Postvegen is a fantastic cultural monument," says Assistant National Heritage Officer Audun Skeisvoll, "This is an important piece of Norwegian transportation history. The road shows how important it was to secure the mail, and the road network made it easier for most people to travel by road from Bergen to Trondheim. We support the project because it is an important part of our cultural heritage.
The Trondhjemske postvegen linked Bergen and Trondheim together by land. The idea for the road came in 1768, when Nicolai Frederich Krogh was appointed roadmaster general in the north. Although many people thought this was a good idea, the road was not completed until the late 1780s. It was a major undertaking, and more than 50 bridges were built, many of them spectacularly dry-laid in stone, to get people and mail across safely and quickly.
The project to promote the post road is a collaboration between the county councils of Møre og Romsdal, Vestland, Trøndelag and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The project aims to highlight the post road as a resource and develop storytelling and marketing of the post road. They do this through the website www.postvei.no, as well as creating a network for the development of the post road. In addition, they will increase knowledge of dry masonry, which is needed for the restoration of the road.
Postvegen is a good value creation project
The collaboration will contribute to coordinated management of the post road and better coordination of local and regional plans related to tourism, public health and development.
- "First and foremost, the project will be developed with and for the local communities along the road, so that the post road as an important cultural monument benefits the local population," says Skeidsvoll. "We believe that the post road project is a prime example of good value creation in the collaboration between the public sector, industry, organizations and citizens," says Skeidsvoll.
