Skien Church ( no, Skien 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 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 ...

Skien Municipality Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Nors ...

Vestfold og Telemark Vestfold og Telemark (; ) is a county under disestablishment in Norway. The county is the southernmost one of Eastern Norway and consists of two distinct and separate traditional regions: the former counties of Telemark and (most of) Vestfold. T ...

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 Skien. It is the church for the Skien

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

Skien prosti This list of churches in Agder og Telemark is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Agder and Vestfold og Telemark counties in southern Norway. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the cit ...

(

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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth larges ...

. The red brick church was built in 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 described ...

design in 1894 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 ...

Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg. The church seats about 1,050 people.

Building

The church is long with a tower height of for two twin towers, and the interior height is . The church is shaped like a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

where it stands on a ridge overlooking the harbour, which reinforces the effect of the sky-reaching towers. The church cost (in 1894) to build. The

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

in Skien Church is one of the largest in Norway with over 5000 pipes. Skien Church has a combination of Neo-Gothic pointed

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 vaul ...

es and circular arches. In the chancel arch we see the arch, transept has also pointed arches at the top, while the galleries and the longitudinal side ships have round arches. The artistic decoration in Skien Church is primarily characterized by

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows in the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

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 ...

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

, and the

ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

on the walls and ceilings. The church was built in 1894 on the basis of the possible expectation that

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

county would become its own

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

within the

. This church would become a seat of a bishop and that the new church was to become Cathedral, but this did not occur. 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 ...

the diocese was created by the occupation

Quisling ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English meaning a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for ''traitor''. The word ori ...

government, and this church was called ''Skien Cathedral'' during the war and the Quisling government. After the war, the former geographical division of dioceses was reinstated.

History

Medieval building

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1400, but the church was not built that year. The first church in Skien was a stone church that was possibly built during the 13th century. The church was located closer to the harbour, about to the southeast of the present church site. The original site was on a hill, about above the rest of the town. The church had a

and an

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 ...

Second building

In 1777, there was a fire in Skien which burned down the old church. The professor and architect

Jørgen Henrich Rawert Jørgen Henrich Rawert was a (16 August 1751 – 14 July 1823) was a Danish architect. He created the masterplan for the rebuilding of Copenhagen after the Great Fire of 1795 in his capacity of city architect and was also involved in many bu ...

was commissioned to build a new church. He designed a stone

building. The new church was nicknamed ''Christianskirken'', after the current King of Denmark-Norway, Christian VII. This building was Rawert's first monumental work in Norway. As a model for the interior, he has used the 20-year-old

Kongsberg Church Kongsberg Church ( no, Kongsberg kirke, nn, Kongsberg kyrkje) is a building and congregation of the Church of Norway located at Kongsberg in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Kongsberg Church, a large baroque church, w ...

. The new building took over six years to build. Throughout the project the expected soared, double what was planned, so a large fundraising campaign was launched to pay for the project. The church was built as a cruciform church with a massive tower in the middle. The tower did not have a spire, but instead a tower cap crowned by a cross. The new church had seating for about 1,176 people. There were beautiful windows with white curtains with red fringes and tassels. The altar, altarpiece, pulpit, and organ were placed one above the other in a so-called

pulpit altar A pulpit altar or pulpit-altar is an altar in a church that is built together with a pulpit that is designed as an extension above the altar, so the pulpit, altar, and altarpiece form one unit. This type of altar is typical in a Baroque style church ...

setup. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject 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 o ...

was a painting depicting the burial of Christ. In 1886, a fire broke out again in the town of Skien, and the church burned again and it was not salvageable. The only items saved were the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

(made by the sculptor Ole Henriksen), the holy vessels, two gilded wooden figures Troen and Haabet (made by carver Jacob Christian Holler), and the

painting. An interim church was erected at Marensro shortly after the fire. The interim church was used from 1886 until 1894 when the new church was finally completed. Afterwards, the interim church was converted to a school building. (The temporary church was demolished by the municipality of Skien on 31 March 2011 - see photos of the demolitio
here
.

Current building

Afterwards, an architectural competition was held to design the new church. There was no clear winner, so a second competition was held. That time, Hagbarth Schytte-Berg emerged victorious and was chosen to design the building. The master builder named Lorentz Christian Wagle from Arendal was hired to lead the construction. It was decided to build the church on a new site, about to the northwest of the old church site. The new church is a

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 ...

building in unpolished red brick with tall, slender twin towers at the entrance on the southeast side. The architect's inspiration was taken from the German architects John Vollmer and John Otzens. The new church 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 ...

on 31 August 1894 by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Johan Christian Heuch Johan Christian Heuch or J. C. Heuch (23 March 1838–13 February 1904) was a Norwegian bishop in the Church of Norway and politician for the Conservative Party. Personal life He was born in Kragerø, Norway as the son of merchant and po ...

. There have been some major maintenance problems with the church over the years. In 1920-1922, some of the facade bricks were replaced. In 1960-1961, there were many cracks in the exterior facade that were repaired. In 1969-1970, the interior of the church was repainted with new colors. In 1985-1987, the foundation was rebuilt under the towers and the nave. In 2004, the exterior brick facade was replaced again.

Media gallery

Skien Kirke (tvillingetårn).jpg, Front facade Skien kirke church Grenlandskatedralen Neo-Gothic nygotisk 1894 68 m twin towers Norway 2019-09-01DSC05724.jpg, Main entrance Glasmaleri af Pelikan i Skien Kirke.JPG, Stained glass window Prekestol Skien.JPG, Church pulpit Orgel Skien kirke.JPG, Church organ Hvælvinger i Skien Kirke.JPG, Church vault Alter Skien Kirke.JPG, Skien Church's altar piece is shaped like a church facade with portals and towers and surrounded by stained glass windows

References

External links

* {{use dmy dates, date=December 2022 Buildings and structures in Skien Churches in Vestfold og Telemark Cruciform churches in Norway Brick churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1894 13th-century establishments in Norway Art Nouveau church buildings in Norway Event venues established in 1894