Tromsdalen Church or the Arctic Cathedral ( no, Tromsdalen kirke, Ishavskatedralen) 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 activities, ...

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 evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

Tromsø Municipality Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the 2 ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

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

Tromsdalen Tromsdalen ( sme, Romssavággi Sálašvággi) is an urban neighborhood in the city of Tromsø which is in Tromsø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located just to the east of the city centre on the mainland along the coas ...

valley on the east side of the city of Tromsø. It is the church for the Tromsøysund

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 m ...

which is part of the Tromsø domprosti (arch-

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 residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland ( no, Nord-Hålogaland bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms og Finnmark county as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Trom ...

. The modern concrete and metal church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when 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 instance under Urnes Stave C ...

style in 1965 using plans drawn up by

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 ...

Jan Inge Hovig Jan Inge Hovig (11 May 1920 – 4 July 1977) was a Norwegian architect. Hovig was born at Verran in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. He was the son of Johannes Sigurd Hovig (1895-1953) and Gudlaug Pauline Taugstad (1900-1969). Hovig finished his stud ...

. The church seats about 600 people.

Name

Once known as ''Tromsdalen Church'' ( no, Tromsdalen kirke) or ''Tromsøysund Church'' (), the church is commonly nicknamed the ''Ishavskatedralen'' which literally means "The Cathedral of the Arctic Sea" or simply the "Arctic Cathedral". Despite its nickname, it is a

and not, in fact, a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

as it is commonly called.

Construction

The church was designed by

and is built mainly of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

. The main contractor for the construction was Ing. F. Selmer A/S Tromsø. The church is one of the most notable churches in Tromsø due to its design, although Tromsø does have other churches of interest, such as the Protestant

Tromsø Cathedral Tromsø Cathedral ( no, Tromsø domkirke) is a cathedral of the Church of Norway located in the city of Tromsø in Tromsø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The cathedral is the church for the ''Tromsø Domkirkens'' parish and i ...

, which is noted for being the only wooden cathedral in Norway, and the Catholic

Cathedral of Our Lady, Tromsø The Cathedral of Our Lady ( no, Vår Frue domkirke) Also Church of Our Lady Is the Catholic cathedral of the city of Tromsø, Norway, and seat of the prelature of the same name. It is the northernmost Catholic (and Christian in general) cathedral ...

. The groundbreaking of the church was 1 April 1964 and it was completed in 1965. 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 19 November 1965 by the Bishop

Monrad Norderval Monrad Oskar Norderval (1902–1976) was a Norwegian bishop in the Church of Norway. Norderval was born in Ålesund, Norway in 1902. He graduated with the cand.theol. degree in 1928 from the Royal Frederick University in Oslo. He began his min ...

. The church is built out of cast-in-place aluminium-coated concrete panels. In 1972, a glass mosaic was added to the eastern side, made by

Victor Sparre Victor Sparre (né Smith; 4 November 1919 – 16 March 2008) was a Norwegian painter, glass designer and non-fiction writer. Personal life Sparre was born in Bærum as the son of librarian Victor Alf Smith and Eli Sparre. He was married to nurse A ...

. The church acquired an organ built by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri in 2005, with three manuals, pedals, 42 stops, and 2940 pipes. It replaced the old opus nr. 12 organ delivered by Vestlandske Orgelverksted, Hareid, which had 22 voices and 124 keys.

Gallery

Arctic Cathedral Midnight Sun.JPG, 2010-08-02 - Tromsø - Eismeerkathedrale - Ansicht von vorne - panoramio.jpg, 2010-08-02 - Tromsø - Eismeerkathedrale - Ansicht von hinten - panoramio.jpg, 85668 Tromsdalen kirkested - Ishavskatedralen from bridge.jpg, Inside the Arctic Cathedral.JPG, Tromsø arctic cathedral.jpg, Tromsø Midnight Sun 2.gif, Tromsø 2015.jpg, 2010-08-02 - Tromsø - Innenansicht der Eismeerkathedrale - panoramio.jpg, Ishavskatedralenimidnattsso.gif, Cathedral from across Tromsøysund in the evening (2006-03) - panoramio.jpg, Norwegen tromso eismeerkathedrale.jpg, Tromsö Eismeerkathedrale Innen 4.JPG, Ishavskatedralen 002.jpg,

References

External links

The Arctic Cathedral
{{use dmy dates, date=February 2021 Churches in Tromsø Churches in Troms 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1965 1965 establishments in Norway Culture of the Arctic Modernist architecture in Norway

Name

Construction

Gallery

See also

References

External links