Bergen Cathedral () is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in the city of

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is the episcopal seat of the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () 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, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

as well as the seat of the "Bergen domkirke"

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and the seat of the Bergen domprosti (arch-

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

). It is part of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

. The first recorded historical reference to this church is dated 1181. It retains its ancient dedication to Saint Olaf. The cathedral seats about 600 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1181, when the peasant chief Jon Kutiza attacked King Sverre in Bergen. According to '' Sverris saga'', some of Sverre's men then fled into the church (then known as ''Olavskirken'' because it was dedicated to Saint Olaf). At that time, the church was probably a regular parish church, but later, during the reign of King

Haakon IV of Norway Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; ; ), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haak ...

(1217–63),

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friars must have taken over the church and built a

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

by it. The medieval cathedral was instead Christ Church at Bergenhus Fortress, a medieval royal residence in Bergen. The first church built here had a

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity in Norway, Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For inst ...

design in the Romanesque style. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

measured about and the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

was including the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. Not much else is known about the first stone church on this site. The old church burned down in 1248 during a large city-wide fire and afterwards, a new stone church was built on the same site. Part of the north wall of the old church was salvaged and incorporated into the new church design. There was another fire in the church in 1270 and Magnus Lagabøte financed the repairs afterwards. In 1463, it burned down again, but it was not fully reconstructed until the 1550s. In 1537, it was decided that the church would be the new cathedral for the diocese to replace the old cathedral at Holmen which was demolished in 1531. Despite being declared the cathedral of the post-

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

Protestant diocese, the church was not fully rebuilt after the fire in 1463. Bergen's first Protestant bishop, Gjeble Pederssøn, arranged for the completion of the church and it was completed before his death in 1557. After the fires of 1623 and 1640, Bergen Cathedral received its current general appearance. The steeple on the

that was built by Bishop Pederssøn, was torn down, and the current tower on the west end was built. As part of the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

, 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. In 1702, there was an extensive renovation and restoration project that was undertaken after another city-wide fire. In 1814, this church served as an election church (). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the

Constitution of Norway The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...

. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

later that year. During the renovation in the 1880s, under the direction of architects Christian Christie and Peter Andreas Blix, the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

interiors were restored to their former

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

appearance.

Music

The present

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

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. The cathedral is used regularly for musical concerts.

Gallery

NO-bergen-olavkirk-01.jpg, Tower Bergen Cathedral, (Bergen domkirke) a cathedral in Bergen, Hordaland county, on a sunny summer's day, June 2015. Peter Neaum. - panoramio.jpg, Exterior Catedral, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 50.jpg, Domkirken, Bergen....jpg, Domkirken bg 4.jpg, Cannonball in the wall Domkirken.bg.2.jpg, Sanctuary Domkirken.bg.3.jpg, Interior support pillars Bergen - Cathédrale - Choeur.JPG, Altar Bergen Cathedral Organ.jpg , Organ

References

External links

*
Bergenskartet - Kirker og klostre - Bergen Domkirke
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Cathedrals in Norway Lutheran cathedrals in Norway Churches in Bergen Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 13th-century churches in Norway Churches completed in the 1250s 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches Churches dedicated to Saint Olav in Norway

History

Music

Gallery

See also

References

External links