Tourists and Pilgrims – welcome to Ørland

The Coastal Pilgrim Path in Ørland starts next to the fast ferry terminal at Brekstad and goes to the key point of Austrått Manor. Along this route you will see one of Ørland’s bird reserves, the internationally protected Hovsfjæra Ramsar area. Feel free to take a walk down to the bird tower and experience the richness of the nature in this area. On the way to Austrått Manor the path runs through the Skjeggehaugan burial ground which is home to one of the most dramatic events from Olav Tryggavson’s Christianisation of Norway at the end of the 10th century. Austrått Manor is one of Norway’s few buildings from the renaissance and the most biblically ornate building in the country. The chapel in the Manor House contains a unique collection of saintly images from the Middle Ages. The mighty Ingjerd Ottesdatter, who Henrik Ibsen referred to as Mrs Inger of Austrått, resided here during the time of the reformation. If you follow the path west towards Austrått fort, you can visit the last remaining German triple tower from the Second World War. From Austrått Manor you can follow the hiking route all the way to Rusasetvatnet, a restored and recreated freshwater lake with rich bird life and from there you can follow a marked trail back to Brekstad. Feel free to also follow the route marked on the map to Ørland’s main church at Viklem. This is Fosen’s only standing stone church from the Middle Ages, and it is here that the Mighty Mrs Inger of Viklem is buried.