Northern Lights Cathedral

The Northern Lights Cathedral - Alta Church (Norwegian: Nordlyskatedralen - Alta Kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Alta Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county. It is located in the central part of the town of Alta. It is the church for the Alta parish and the Alta prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.[1] The modern church was built in a circular style in 2013 by the architecture firm LINK arkitektur, in collaboration with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects.[2] The church seats about 350 people.[2][3] Prior to the opening of this church, the main church for the parish was the historic Alta Church.

Northern Lights Cathedral
Alta Church
Nordlyskatedralen - Alta Kirke
View of the church
Northern Lights Cathedral
Alta Church
Location of the church
Northern Lights Cathedral
Alta Church
Northern Lights Cathedral
Alta Church (Norway)
69.9650°N 23.2664°E / 69.9650; 23.2664
LocationAlta Municipality, Troms og Finnmark
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway[1]
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
Websitenordlyskatedral.no
History
StatusParish church
Consecrated10 Feb 2013
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeCircular
Completed2013
Specifications
Capacity350
MaterialsConcrete
Administration
ParishAlta
DeaneryAlta prosti
DioceseNord-Hålogaland

Design

The church construction period was 2009–2013. The building was constructed of concrete and wood with external cladding of titanium sheets. The central feature is its large spiral with belfry. The interior contains artwork by the artist Peter Brandes.[4]

The cathedral is the result of an architectural competition launched in 2001 and was designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects in collaboration with architect Kolbjørn Jenssen of Link Arkitektur.[5] It was consecrated on 10 February 2013 by the Bishop Per Oskar Kjølaas, with the Crown Princess Mette Marit in attendance. The church was built to replace the old Alta Church as the main church for the deanery.[6][7]

Name

The "Northern Lights" are the Aurora Borealis associated with the Arctic night sky. At the opening service, bishop Per Oskar Kjølaas admitted that the word katedrale was contentious since it technically meant not a parish church but a cathedral (for which the more common Norwegian word is domkirke). He defended the name by the informal precedents of the Lofotkatedralen and Ishavskatedralen, and argued that a bishop is at home in all churches of the diocese.[8]

  • Nordlyskatedralen Entrance
  • Outer courtyard
  • Exterior view
  • Interior view
  • Nordlyskatedralen Sanctuary
  • Nordlyskatedralen Organ
  • Nordlyskatedralen Spiral
  • Nordlyskatedralen Altar
  • Altar

See also
  • List of churches in Finnmark

References
  1. "Kirkas navn". Nordlyskatedralen (in Norwegian).
  2. "Nordlyskatedralen Alta kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  3. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  4. "Northern Lights Cathedral /Alta". Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  5. "Cathedral of the Northern Lights / SHL Architects + LINK arkitektur". ArchDaily. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  6. "Vigsling av katedralen 10. februar" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  7. Thor Bugge Lanesskog (2013-02-10). "Opening of "Nordlyskatedralen"". ThorNews. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  8. Lund, Rolf Edmund (10 February 2013). "Unikt navnevalg". Alta Posten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 15 October 2018.
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