Hammerfest Church ( no, Hammerfest kirke) 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 in

Hammerfest municipality Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerfe ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...

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 the ...

. It is located in the town of Hammerfest. It is the church for the Hammerfest

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 o ...

which is the seat of the Hammerfest prosti ( deanery) 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 white,

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 wid ...

church was built in a long church style in 1961 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 ...

Hans Magnus. The church seats about 525 people.

History

The first church built in Hammerfest was in 1620. It was a simple wooden chapel. In 1684, that church was torn down and replaced with a new building. Around 1695, a new sacristy was added to the building. In 1704, the church roof was repaired and in 1712 the church got 9 new windows installed. The church was soon too small for the town. Construction began on a new, larger church around 1740. The new church was a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

design with 16 windows and a small spire on top of a tower. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church ( no, valgkirke) 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 election ...

( no, valgkirke). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised t ...

which wrote the Constitution of Norway. This was Norway's first national elections. Each

church 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 ...

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 municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information ...

later that year. In 1840, the church was replaced with a new building once again. The town of Hammerfest had a major fire in 1890 in which about two-thirds of the town burned down, including the church. In 1893, a new church was built using designs by the architect H. Bucher. That church was burned to the ground by the retreating German army as they left Finnmark in 1944. That church was situated near the present location. The current church was a part of the large reconstruction project in Hammerfest that was consecrated in July 1961.

Media gallery

Hamerfest - église.jpg, Exterior Hammerfest kirke..jpg, North side of church Hammerfest Kirche.jpg, View looking south at the church NO-Hammerfest-ev-kirche-aussen.jpg, Exterior view NO-Hammerfest-ev-kirche-hafen.jpg, View of the town Hammerfest Kierch.jpg, Interior Hammerfest kirke innvendig.jpg, Interior NO-Hammerfest-ev-kirche-orgel.jpg, Organ

References

{{use dmy dates, date=February 2021 Hammerfest Churches in Finnmark 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1961 1620 establishments in Norway Norwegian election church Long churches in Norway Concrete churches in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References