Årstad Church ( no, Årstad kirke) is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

Bergen Municipality Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, whe ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located in the Årstad neighborhood in the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. It is the church for the Årstad

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

which is part of the Bergensdalen prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

. The large, stone church was built in a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

design and a

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style in 1890 using plans drawn up by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Christian Christie. The church seats about 560 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of Årstad church date back to the year 1564, but it was built before that time, possibly in the 13th century. Originally, the stone church was located about north of the present church site and it was part of the Fana Church parish. The church was called the ''Church of the Holy Cross'' ( no, Kirken Hellig Kors) at that time. In the 1600s, the old church was taken out of regular use due to its age and size and the residents of Årstad were sent to the nearby Birkeland Church. The old stone church burned down and was mostly destroyed in the city fire of 1702. Around the mid-1700s, the people of Årstad were a part of the St. Jørgen's Church. The old church sat unused as a ruin for a long time, and the ruins of the foundation were still visible in 1902. The last remains of the foundation were dug out and removed in 1910. After a long time without a church, a new church was built to replace the old church in 1890. The new church was located about south of the old church site. It was designed by Christian Christie and built on what was the old Haukeland farm, south of

Store Lungegårdsvannet Store Lungegårdsvannet is a bay located in the city and municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The bay separates the city centre, located in the borough of Bergenhus, from the southern boroughs of the city, Årstad, Fana and Ytrebygd ...

. The mason Nielsen was responsible for the masonry work, while the builders Askeland and Nævdal were responsible for the carpentry work and

Peter Andreas Blix Peter Andreas Blix (4 November 1831 – 31 January 1901) was a Norwegian architect and engineer best known for designing railway stations and villas in Swiss chalet style. He was also occupied with the conservation of Norwegian stave churches an ...

was the supervisor of the whole project. The foundation stone was laid on 6 August 1890 and it was completed about 3 months later. The new church was

consecrate Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

d on 26 November 1890.

Media gallery

Årstad kirke Bergen at night.jpg Aarstad kirke - 01.jpg 1783 Bergen. Aarstad Kirke - no-nb digifoto 20160202 00161 bldsa PK20322.jpg 31 Bergen, Aarstad Kirke - no-nb digifoto 20160202 00180 bldsa PK20266.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aarstad Church Churches in Bergen Cruciform churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1890 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References