The Arsenal Superintendent at Kristiansten
Kristiansten Fortress, Trondheim’s municipal waterworks, the Gråkallen tramway and a modest stretch of road at Breidablikk are all associated with Arsenal Superintendent Hofstad.
Ludvig Martin Hofstad 1853–1933: The Arsenal Superintendent at Kristiansten
Kristiansten Fortress, Trondheim’s municipal waterworks, the Gråkallen tramway and a modest stretch of road at Breidablikk are all associated with Arsenal Superintendent Hofstad.
On a raised plateau near Havstein Church, Arsenal Superintendent Ludvig Hofstad lies buried alongside his closest family members. The imposing memorial bears little resemblance to the modest cul-de-sac that carries his name today. The short stretch of road formerly known as Hofstads vei was down by Breidablikk and was equally inconspicuous. It was absorbed into Breidablikkveien when that road was realigned and extended in the 1990s.
Hofstad was born in Stjørdal in 1853. He graduated with top marks from the Artillery Non-Commissioned Officers’ School in Oslo and continued there as an instructor. At the age of just 25, he was appointed to a position at Trondhjem Arsenal, the military weapons and supply depot at Kristiansten Fortress. He initially served as a fyrverker, a technical military position involving responsibility for artillery and ammunition, among other duties. He later became arsenal superintendent, the senior official in charge of Trondhjem Arsenal. For his service in the artillery, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Olav.
Hofstad was also an honorary member of the Trondheim Workers’ Association. Equally important to his local legacy, however, was the fact that he was the first to raise the question of establishing a municipal waterworks in Trondheim. Even at that time, he proposed Estenstaddammen as the principal reservoir, with Jonsvatnet as a reserve water source. He was also involved in the development of the city’s electricity supply and supported the plans for the Gråkallen tramway, projects that would later have a major impact on Trondheim’s urban development. It was therefore fitting that the road bearing his name began at Breidablikk station on the Gråkallen tramway.
Ludvig Martin Hofstad died in 1933.