Ullern Church (''Ullern kirke'') is a cruciform Romanesque church on the Holgerslyst property in the

Ullern Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...

borough of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

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 parish church for the Ullern congregation in the Vestre Aker Deanery of the

Diocese of Oslo The Diocese of Oslo is the Church of Norway's Diocese, bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese ...

History

The church is built of stone in 1903 and has seating for 800 people. The cruciform structure is dominated by an imposing central tower. The tower is square and has three windows on each side. It is topped by a tall

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

covered in copper. The church was designed by the architect Harald Bødtker. The original plans for the church had been drawn up by

Georg Andreas Bull Georg Andreas Bull (26 March 1829 – 1 February 1917) was a Norwegian architect and chief building inspector in Oslo, Christiania (now Oslo) for forty years. He was among the major architects in the country, and performed surveying studies and ...

, Oslo's city surveyor. The plans were reworked by the architect Johan Storm Munch (1862-1947) in 1899 and approved by the municipality. The drawings were lost that year, when the farm where Munch had his office burned down. The assignment then went to Harald Bødtker, who had just been hired as the municipal architect in Aker.

Interior

The church is dominated by its choir apse with the fresco ''The Ascension'', painted by

Eilif Peterssen Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen (4 September 1852 – 29 December 1928) was a Norwegian painter. He is most commonly associated with his landscapes and portraits. He gained early recognition for the history painting ''Christian II signing t ...

in 1908–1909. It was created in close collaboration with Domenico Erdmann. Over the altar, in front of the fresco, is a marble

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent Architecture, architectural feature, particularly over Alta ...

designed by Bødtker. The pulpit was also designed by Bødtker, and the baptismal font is from the company Johs Grønseth & Co. The stained glass dates from 1915 to 1915; it was designed and created by various artists, including Gabriel Kielland and Karl Kristiansen (1886–1971).

Cemetery

The church yard contains a cemetery (''Ullern kirkegård'') which is the final resting place to a number of notable Norwegian citizens including

Håkon Christie Håkon Andreas Christie (30 August 1922 – 14 December 2010) was a Norwegian architectural historian, antiquarian and author. Together with his wife, Sigrid Marie Christie (18 April 1923 - 16 May 2004) he worked from 1950 on the history of N ...

Chrix Dahl Chrix Dahl (5 January 1906 – 16 June 1994) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Biography Christian Axel Dahl was born in Oslo, Kristiania (now Oslo) Norway. He was the eldest son of Christian Axel Dahl (1878-1918), a naval officer, ...

Thorbjørn Egner Thorbjørn Egner (12 December 1912 – 24 December 1990) was a Norwegian playwright, songwriter and illustrator known principally for his books, plays and musicals for children. He is principally associated with his narratives for children includ ...

Carl Otto Løvenskiold Carl Otto Løvenskiold (23 December 1839 – 1 October 1916) was a Norwegian naval officer, business executive and landowner. He served as the Norwegian prime minister in Stockholm during 1884. By birth, he is a member of Løvenskiold noble fa ...

and

Nic Schiøll Nicolai Marius "Nic" Schiøll (10 October 1901 – 29 December 1984) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter. He was most known for his public works, ornamental sculptures and memorials. Biography Schiøll was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), N ...

References

Other sources

*Berit Harnæs Sivesind, ed. (2002) ''Fra landsted til kirkested: Ullern kirke og menighet gjennom 100 år: 1903–2003.'' (Ullern: Ullern menighetsråd)

External links

Ullern kirke
(Kulturminnesøk) {{Authority control Lutheran churches in Oslo Culture in Oslo Churches completed in 1903 1903 establishments in Norway Stone churches in Norway Cemeteries in Oslo 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Lutheran cemeteries in Norway