Bergen Cathedral

Bergen Cathedral
Bergen domkirke
View of the church
Bergen Cathedral
Location in Hordaland county
Bergen Cathedral
Bergen Cathedral (Norway)
60°23′38″N 5°19′50″E / 60.3939°N 5.3305°E / 60.3939; 5.3305Coordinates: 60°23′38″N 5°19′50″E / 60.3939°N 5.3305°E / 60.3939; 5.3305
Location Bergen, Hordaland
Country Norway
Denomination Church of Norway
Churchmanship Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status Parish church
Founded Before 1181
Events Renovated several
times, most recently
in the 1880s
Architecture
Functional status Active
Architect(s) Christian Christie
(1880s renovation)
Specifications
Capacity 1000
Materials Stone
Administration
Parish Bergen domkirke
Deanery Bergen domprosti
Diocese Diocese of Bjørgvin

Bergen Cathedral (Norwegian: Bergen domkirke) is a cathedral in the city of Bergen in Hordaland county, Norway. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Bjørgvin as well as the seat of the "Bergen domkirke" parish and the seat of the Bergen arch-deanery. It is part of the Church of Norway. The first recorded historical reference to this church is dated 1181. It retains its ancient dedication to Saint Olaf. The cathedral seats about 1,000 people.[1][2][3]

History

During the reign of King Haakon IV of Norway, a Franciscan friary was established near the church, then known as Olavskirken, or the church of Saint Olaf, which was incorporated in it. The church burned down in 1248 and again in 1270, but was reconstructed after both fires. In 1463, it burned down again, but this time it was not reconstructed until the 1550s, despite being declared the cathedral of the post-Reformation Protestant diocese in 1537.[4]

After the fires of 1623 and 1640, Bergen Cathedral received its current general appearance. The steeple on the nave was torn down, and the current tower was built. During the renovation in the 1880s, under the direction of architects Christian Christie and Peter Andreas Blix, the Rococo interiors were restored to their former medieval appearance.[5]

As part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the 1665 Battle of Vågen took place in the main port area of Bergen. A cannonball from the sea battle between the English and Dutch fleets remains embedded in the cathedral's exterior wall.[6][7]

Music

The present organ at Bergen Cathedral, by Rieger Orgelbau, is from 1997. The organ is the fifth one in the cathedral's history; the first known organ was installed in 1549.[8] The cathedral is used regularly for musical concerts.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2011 edition of the cathedral tourist guide leaflet: "Welcome to Bergen Cathedral - St Olav's Church".
  2. ↑ "Bergen domkirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  3. ↑ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  4. ↑ Gunnar Hagen Hartvedt (1994). "Domkirken". Bergen Byleksikon: 157–158.
  5. ↑ Ellen Marie Magerøy, Hans-Emil Lidén. "Bergen domkirke". Norges Kirker. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Vrakrestene etter slaget på Vågen". Bergens Tidende. January 7, 2005. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Bergen Domkirke". Bergenskartet. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ Skreien, Norvall (1999). Bergen kulturguide. Kunnskapsforlaget. p. 22. ISBN 8257309893.
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