Saint Olav
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Right here, almost 1,000 years ago, King Olav sailed past on his dramatic journey north. Known as Olav Haraldsson, he ruled Norway from 1015 to 1028 and played a central role in the Christianization of the country. After his death at the Battle of Stiklestad, he was declared a saint under the name Saint Olav and is considered Norway’s eternal king. His burial site at Nidaros Cathedral became one of Europe’s most important pilgrimage destinations. When Olav passed this spot in the year 1029, he was fleeing enemies, betrayed by his own men, and heading toward exile in Sweden. Just below today’s Vegsund Bridge lies Olavskilden, or Olav’s Spring. According to tradition, the king drank and washed here, and the water was believed to have healing powers. The Saga of Saint Olav, in Heimskringla chapter 178, tells how he was warned of a large peasant army approaching Ålesund, prompting his escape. After a dramatic murder and political betrayal in Borgund, he continued his flight through Vegsund, into the fjords toward Tafjord and Valldal. Eventually, he crossed the mountains on foot to Lesja. A year later, in 1030, he was killed at Stiklestad – a moment seen as a turning point in Norway’s conversion to Christianity. Olav’s Spring in Vegsund remains one of the few physical traces of that legendary journey – quiet, hidden, yet still sacred to many.