Christina Haakonsdotter of Norway (born in 1234 in Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

 – Sevilla 1262), sometimes spelled Kristina or Kristín, was a daughter of King Håkon IV of Norway and his wife, Margrete Skuledotter. As part of an alliance she was betrothed to Infante Philip of Castile, brother of King Alfonso X of Castile

Alfonso X of Castile

Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...

. She travelled from Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....

 and arrived at Las Huelgas in Burgos

Burgos

Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...

 on Christmas Eve of 1257. Philip and Christina married in March of 1258. The couple lived in Sevilla until she died childless at the age of 28. Her body was transported to the monastery in Covarrubias, Spain where she was buried.

In 1953 a sarcophagus

Sarcophagus

A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...

 believed to be empty was mistakenly opened to reveal a woman. A scroll written in Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 was found with the body and revealed that it was in fact Infanta Christina. Legend has it that her wish for a wedding gift was the erection of a chapel in honour of St. Olav in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. On 18th September, 2011 the chapel of St. Olav has been finally consecrated in Covarrubias
In 1978 a statue of Princess Kristina made by artist Brit Sørensen was unveiled in Covarrubias and a copy was later erected in Tønsberg.

Tønsberg and Covarrubias have entered a friendship agreement as the result of this old connection.

The Princess Christina foundation has been established to further the work to preserve and advance the cultural and historical ties.

Ancestry

External links

• Pilgrim webpage extensive article.