Bodø Cathedral ( no, Bodø domkirke) is 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 ...

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 ...

in Bodø Municipality in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

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 town of Bodø. It is the church for the ''Bodø domkirke''

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 also the seat of the

Bodø domprosti Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...

(

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 ...

) and the seat of the Bishop of the

Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the seat of the pres ...

. The concrete 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 ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

style in 1956 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 ...

Gudolf Blakstad Gudolf Blakstad (19 May 1893 – 22 November 1985) was a Norwegian architect. He was noted for his work in the transition between neo-classicism and functionalism in Norwegian architecture. Biography Blakstad was born in Gjerpen, Norway. He ...

and

Herman Munthe-Kaas Herman Munthe-Kaas (25 May 1890 – 5 May 1977) was a Norwegian architect. He was primarily known for his functionalist building designs. Biography Munthe-Kaas was born at Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Marius William M ...

. The church seats about 850 people.

History

The town of Bodø was established in 1816, but it did not receive its own church for quite some time. The nearby Bodin Church served the town and surrounding area for quite some time before a church was built in the town. Construction on a new church in the town of Bodø began in 1887 and it 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 6 January 1888. The building was designed by the architect

Jacob Wilhelm Nordan Jacob Wilhelm Nordan (23 February 1824 – 11 April 1892) was a Danish-born, Norwegian architect. During his career, he was one of the most prolific church architects in Norway. Biography Nordan was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and came to Norw ...

. It was a yellow, wooden,

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 ...

with a tower on the west end. The church was destroyed on 27 May 1940 when the whole city center of

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...

was bombed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1946, an architectural competition was held for the design of a new church, which was won by the architects

and

. The foundation stone was laid in 1954, and the new church which was

consecrated 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 ...

by Bishop

Wollert Krohn-Hansen Wollert Krohn-Hansen (28 December 1889—3 April 1973) was a Norwegian theologian and pastor. He was the Bishop of the Diocese of Hålogaland from 1940 until 1952, and was instrumental in dividing it into two smaller dioceses. After the divi ...

on 14 October 1956. By the time it was completed, it had become the cathedral for the new

, which was established in 1952. Bodø Cathedral is built of concrete and has a

design. The church has an external sculpture depicting

Petter Dass Petter Pettersen Dass (c. 1647 – 17 August 1707) was a Lutheran priest and the foremost Norwegian poet of his generation, writing both baroque hymns and topographical poetry. Biography He was born at Northern Herøy (Dønna), Nordland, No ...

made by Kristoffer Leirdal. The

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

seats about 890 people. Over the altar in the east wall there is a high stained-glass window designed by Åge Storstein and constructed by Borgar Hauglid. The church has a tall free-standing clock tower that contains three bells. There is also a memorial to those who died from Bodø during the

. The inscription reads which means "To those from Bodø who gave their lives for Norway during the war and occupation 1940–1945. Not named, not forgotten."

Picture gallery

File:Alteret i Bodø domkirke.jpg, Altar File:Bodø Cathedral, Nave and Organ 20150608 1.jpg, Choir loft File:Portal i Bodø domkirke.jpg, Entrance to the chapel File:Bodø Cathedral, South view 20150608 1.jpg, South view with clock tower File:Bodø Cathedral, Nave 20150608 1.jpg, Interior File:Bodø domkirke fra NØ.jpg, Exterior view File:Bodoe domkirke innvendig 1961.jpg, View towards congregation File:Bodø domkirke 05.jpg, World War II memorial plaque in the bell tower of the cathedral of Bodø File:Bodø domkirke 04.jpg, Bell tower

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodo Cathedral Cathedrals in Norway Lutheran cathedrals in Norway Churches in Nordland Churches in Bodø Churches completed in 1956 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings 1888 establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway Concrete churches in Norway

History

Picture gallery

See also

References