Premier Tour

The premier tour of the new pilgrime route will start on Saturday 25th May 2019 at 10 am by a short ceremony at the Turku Cathedral. The pilgrimage will continue all the way to Trondheim in Norway as a race. The archbishop in Finland will send a message to the bishop in Trondheim. The route is both on land and over water. Through the archipelago of SW Finland, over to the archipelago of the Åland Islands, to the mainland of Åland and further to Sweden. In Sweden you can choose between the Vikingaleden trail on land, or continue the St Olav Waterway by sea. Either the trails of Stråsjöleden or Helgonaleden go westwards, to Trondheim and Norway.

The race will reach Trondheim at the Saint Olav Day on July 29 2019, which is an annual festival in the town. The distance between Turku and Trondheim is approximately 1 200 km.

To pilgrimage is free of charge, but you will pay for bed and board. You can choose to take part in the premier tour for some hours, some days, or go the whole way from Turku to Trondheim.

The daily distances is around 20 km. During the first day, the plan is to walk from Turku to Kaarina, which is 15 km, and then continue by bus to Pargas/Parainen. The whole preimer tour will be led by guides. There will also be possibilities for transportation of luggage during the beginning of the tour. The route is suited for everybody with “standard” fitness. There will be small celebrations on several places during the tour. The local churches will also offer guided tours and concerts. To the local events, the local inhabitants are also invited. Everybody book their accomodations and pay for it + meals/food by themselves. All the accomodations are small and cosy, so it is an idea to make the reservations good in advance.

All pilgrims will get a passport at the Turku Cathedral, or along the route.

Welcome to take part in this unique tour! Together we start a new era of the pilgrimage in Northern Europe.

Premier Tour Finland, SW archipelago 25.5-30.5.2019

Premier Tour the Åland Islands 30.5-6.6.2019

Premier Tour Sweden, the Vikingaleden trail 6.6-17.6 2019

Premier Tour Sweden, the St. Olav Waterway by boat 6.6-15.6 2019

Premier Tour Sweden, the Helgonaleden trail

Premier Tour Sweden, the Stråsjöleden trail