Tiller gamle kirkegård

South of Trondheim, the Pilgrimsleden follows an old road along the Tillermarka and through the cultural landscape of Tiller. The old cemetery tells about an old church site dating back to the 13th century, a dramatic natural disaster and energetic villagers.

Tiller has had a church since the Middle Ages. Exactly how many there have been is uncertain, but there were at least five churches. On 7 March 1816, a large landslide occurred in Tiller. The Tiller landslide, where the church, farms, land and people disappeared in the landslide.

The fourth church was built after the landslide, and stood here between 1820 and 1900. The church was an oval octagonal timber church. The construction period took three years, and contributions from the churches in the country, the government and great efforts from the villagers financed the church building.

The church was consecrated on St. Michel's day, 29 November 1820 by Bishop Peter Olivarius Bugge.

In 1894, it was decided to move the church site approx. 2 km northwest of Tiller old cemetery. Today's Tiller Church was inaugurated in 1901.

Tiller gamle kirkegård - "Tiller Old Cemetery" has been maintained for nearly 100 years through local involvement. In 1934, Olaf Tillerbakk received permission to clear the church grounds to grow hay for his sheep. He cleared the church grounds with a scythe every summer until 1949.

In 1950, a congregation meeting was held on the site where they could see what work Olaf had done. The meeting decided that the work had to continue with planning and maintenance.

In 1955, the Tiller farmers' association discussed the question of starting work on the old cemetery. The work got underway and was done on a volunteer basis. Many people from the village turned up, and it was cleared, ploughed, harrowed and seed was sown.

On 16 September 1956, a ceremony was held at the cemetery. Mayor Gjerlov Edvard Thonstad was responsible for the unveiling of a memorial stone. The stone is in light granite with the following inscription:

In memory of Tiller church and those buried here 1817 – 1901

In connection with the Olsok service in 2002, the church spire from 1820 was unveiled.

On 31 July 2022, a new information sign was unveiled after the outdoor service at Olsok.

Every summer there is an outdoor service at Olsok with church coffee afterwards.

According to the church registers, close to 700 people were buried here between 1821 and 1900. The lists of names and more information are available at https://flottenforsamlingshus....

Written by Kent Arild Tillerbakk.