Vår Frue Church ( / ) is a

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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

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 ...

Trondheim Municipality Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populou ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

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 located in the downtown Midtbyen area of the

city of Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and i ...

, just a few blocks north of the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

. It is one of the two churches for the ''Nidaros og Vår Frue''

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 ...

which is part of the

Nidaros domprosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Trøndelag county. The diocese is based at the Nidaros Cathedral in the city of Trondheim (city), T ...

(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 ...

) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. The gray, stone church was built in 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 late 1100s using plans drawn up by Bjørn Sigvardsson. The church seats about 540 people.

History

The church was first constructed during the mid- to late-1100s by Bjørn Sigvardsson. It is a stone

with features of both the Romanesque and

Gothic architectural Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

style. The date of construction is not known for sure, but the church celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007. It was originally called (St. Mary's Church), but has since the 15th century it has been referred to as (Our Lady's Church). The medieval church has seen its share of fires and restorations. In 1651, the church (and 90% of the city's buildings) was destroyed in a great city fire. Afterwards, only the walls remained. Nevertheless, some of the furniture was rescued, and gifts poured in afterwards that made it possible to rebuild and redecorate the church. The church burned again in 1681 and 1708. In 1686, the church

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 ...

was expanded westward, with the masonry in the original eastern parts preserved. Afterwards, the total length of the church measured . From 1739 to 1742, the church underwent a large renovation project. During this time, a new tower with a flat roof was built on the west end. In 1779, the roof of the tower was changed to have a pyramid-shaped roof with a new spire on top. Throughout the 1700s, the church transitioned into having

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

decor. In 1814, the church, along with over 300 others across Norway, served as an

election church An election church () is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national elections and this ass ...

() for elections to the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

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 ...

. Much of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

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 ...

interior were removed in a restoration in the 1880s, led by architect

Christian Christie Eilert Christian Brodtkorb Christie (24 December 1832 – 13 September 1906) was a Norway, Norwegian architect. Personal life He was born in Bergen as a son of customs officer Werner Hosewinckel Christie (1785–1872) and Hansine Langsted (1802 ...

(1832-1906), who also worked on the restoration of the

. Christie made simplifications to the interior to bring it back partly to its former medieval appearance. From 1957 to 1959, a new refurbishment was conducted, led by architect

John Egil Tverdahl John Egil Tverdahl (1890 in Trondheim – 1969) was a Norwegian architect. Tverdahl designed many churches as well as led the restoration of several churches that were located in Nordmøre, Trøndelag, and Nordland in northern Norway. Tverdahl w ...

(1890-1969). During this time, the church had its whitewashed exterior removed. The exterior masonry was knocked off so that the cobblestone stood bare as during the Medieval period. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

was originally carved for

by Heinrich Kühnemann (1711-1792) and dates to between 1742 and 1744. It was painted by J.N. Schavenius, and has figures cut by Jonas Granberg (1696-1776). In 1837 it was transferred to Vår Frue kirke. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

was made in 1771 and it was restored 1957–1959. The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

in the church is from 1898.

Media gallery

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora, Trondheim, Noruega, 2019-09-06, DD 122.jpg, Altar and altarpiece of Vår Frue kirke Vaar Frue kirke Trondheim SE.jpg, Side view of Vår Frue kirke Vfk schoning.jpg, Drawing of Vår Frue kirke with the old flat-roofed tower from c. 1770 File:Vår Frue kirke Trondheim IMG 8651.jpg, Pulpit at Vår Frue kirke Iglesia de Nuestra Señora, Trondheim, Noruega, 2019-09-06, DD 123.jpg, View of the organ and back of the church Vfk cityplanr.png, Location on old maps Vfk portal.jpg, View of the door Vår Frue kirke Trondheim IMG 8654.jpg,

Roccoco 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 ...

wall Vår Frue kirke Trondheim IMG 8644.jpg, Front of the church Iglesia de Nuestra Señora, Trondheim, Noruega, 2019-09-06, DD 42.jpg, Bell tower

References

External links

Vår Frue kirke Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaar Frue Church Churches in Trondheim Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 12th-century churches in Norway 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches

History

Media gallery

See also

References

Related reading

External links