Holmenkollen Chapel (''Holmenkollen kapell'') is located in the neighborhood of

Holmenkollen Holmenkollen () is a mountain and a neighbourhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. It goes up to above sea level and is well-known for its international skiing competitions. Overview In addition to being a residential area, the ar ...

in the Vestre Aker borough of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

, Norway. The original chapel from 1903 was destroyed by arson in 1992. The new chapel was completed in 1996. Holmenkollen Chapel is a listed site, registered in Norway's cultural heritage database.

Planning and construction of the former chapel

Holmenkollen Chapel was first built in 1903 after designs by architect

Holger Sinding-Larsen Peter Andreas Holger Sinding-Larsen (5 July 1869 – 12 December 1938) was a Norwegian architect. He is most associated with his work at Akershus Fortress, where he was a member of the restoration committee and architect from 1905 to 1 ...

as a

paneled Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a Millwork (building material), millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was deve ...

wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

pole construction. "Holmen og Voxenselskabet" was founded in 1880 for the acquisition and development of the area as a recreational area for locals. When the company disbanded in 1890, it gave one of its plots of to the municipality of Oslo to build a sports chapel. Closely related to Holmenkollen Chapel was ''Fortidsminneforeningen''. This association was established in 1844 with several painters as initiators. It was primarily the painter

Johan Christian Dahl Johan Christian Claussen Dahl (24 February 178814 October 1857), often known as or , was a Danish- Norwegian artist who is considered the first great romantic painter in Norway, the founder of the "golden age" of Norwegian painting, and, by some ...

who spoke in favour of a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

design. The association was the birthplace of a young generation of Norwegian architects around the turn of the 20th century, reviving the tradition of Norwegian historic wooden architecture. They searched back to the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, when Norway had its

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the Go ...

. They emphasized identity and their own history, nature and architecture. Holmenkollen Chapel was a direct result of the young generation of architects' emerging awareness of this heritage.

From chapel to church

From its opening in 1903, the building was used as a chapel. Only in 1913 was it dedicated to the use of church services and church ceremonies such as

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an wikt:affirmation, affirma ...

, marriage and funerals in addition to sports services. The chapel was intended as a facility for

hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...

who wanted to attend a Sunday service, even if they chose to go up into the heights for exercise and fresh air. Hiking in the woods was almost fashionable in the late 19th century. Tourist hotels, restaurants,

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

s and

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are ofte ...

s were built in the area, making it a destination also for the growing population of the capital Christiania, (now

Nature trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

and roads led up the ''Holmenkollåsen'' (the hill at Holmenkollen).

Royal Lodge

In 1910, the Royal Lodge (''Kongsseteren''), located close to the chapel, was presented to King Haakon and Queen Maud as a

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

gift from the Norwegian people. The Royal Lodge is a regular haunt of the Norwegian royal family. Whenever they are there – especially during the Christmas holidays and the traditional Holmenkollen competitions in March – they visit the Holmenkollen Chapel.

Fire and reconstruction

The chapel was burned down in an act of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

on 23 August 1992. The police first concluded that the fire was not intentional, but that it was due to a defect in the electrical system. Later, this explanation was withdrawn and the

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

artists

Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian writer and retired musician best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, issued under the name Burz ...

(of

Burzum Burzum (; ) was a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black m ...

) and Bård "Faust" Eithun were tried and sentenced; Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth had also participated, but was murdered by Vikernes before the trial. An early proposal from the church to build a modern chapel was soon abandoned as a result of a popular demand to build a church that looked like the original building. With half of the funds from the private collection, a new chapel was designed by architect

Arne Sødal Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessaly) ...

and built in 1996. Holmenkollen kapell 0004

The new chapel

The new chapel was built with inspiration from the stave churches of

Rauland Rauland is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Vinje Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Raulandsgrend (also kno ...

and Heidal, built with massive

plank Plank may refer to: *Plank (wood), flat, elongated, and rectangular timber with parallel faces * Plank (exercise), an isometric exercise for the abdominal muscles *Martins Creek (Kentucky), the location of Plank post office * ''The Plank'' (1967 fi ...

s and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

walls. Its

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

es are made of solid

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

roots and only old

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

techniques were used. To facilitate construction, an accurate 3-dimensional model was made first. Drawings based on the model were used for making all of the components in

Vågå Vågå () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo. Other village areas in Vågå include Lalm and Besshe ...

before they were brought to Holmenkollen by road and assembled as a kit. The chapel has new stave church features, and benefits from

dragestil Dragestil ("Dragon Style") is a style of design and architecture that originated in Norway and was widely used principally between 1880 and 1910. It is a variant of the more embracing National Romantic style and an expression of Romantic nationa ...

wood carvings. The chapel serves as a new working church. In addition to the church, the complex contains an

assembly hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...

, kitchen and meeting rooms.Byens fornyelse
in Norwegian

References

External links

Parish website
in Norwegian {{Authority control Lutheran churches in Oslo Holmenkollen Churches completed in 1996 1903 establishments in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1903 Wooden churches in Norway National Romantic architecture in Norway Churches destroyed by arson Buildings and structures in Norway destroyed by arson