Trinity Church (in
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
, Trefoldighetskirken), is a church in the
Hammersborg neighborhood in central
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 ...
,
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 ...
. Trinity Church is neighbor of the government buildings in
Regjeringskvartalet
Regjeringskvartalet (the Government Quarter) is a collection of buildings located in the centre of Norway's capital city Oslo, housing several offices for the Norwegian Government. The complex is situated approximately 300m northeast of the Pa ...
. It is the parish church of the parish of Trinity, belonging to the
Diocese of Oslo of the
Church of Norway. It is one of the largest churches in Oslo (1000 seats). The church itself is in the raw red brick, while the
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
s, arches and small
columns have gray scale color. The
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 ...
is
octagonal with a Greek cross superimposed, with 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 sp ...
in the
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
, shallow
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 wi ...
and
rectangular
In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is a quadrilateral with four right angles. It can also be defined as: an equiangular quadrilateral, since equiangular means that all of its angles are equal (360°/4 = 90°); or a parallelogram containin ...
entrance flanked by two
slender, octagonal
bell towers. A central
dome rises above the church. Trinity Church is the largest church in Oslo and one of the largest of the many
octagonal churches in Norway
An octagonal church has an octagonal (eight-sided polygon) architectural plan. The exterior and the interior (the nave) may be shaped as eight-sided polygon with approximately equal sides or only the nave is eight-sided supplemented by choir and ...
, but one of few octagonal churches constructed in red brick.
History
Trinity Church was consecrated in 1858 by Bishop
Jens Lauritz Arup
Jens Lauritz Arup (20 April 1793 – 9 April 1874) was a Norwegian bishop and politician.
He was born at Kristiansand in Vest-Agder, Norway. His father was a sexton and a school teacher. In 1811 Arup was sent to Copenhagen to study, but ...
. The church has 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 ...
central plan, with ''two towers'' and eight-sided dome, and was designed by architect
Alexis de Chateauneuf (
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
), but some time after the work was entrusted to his pupil
Wilhelm von Hanno
Andreas Friedrich Wilhelm von Hanno (15 December 1826 – 12 December 1882) was a German-born Norwegian architect, sculptor and painter. He was among the leading architects in Norway during the middle of the 1800s.
Biography
Wilhelm von Hanno ...
, who made some modifications to the original plans and put his personal stamp on the details of interior decoration. The main body (1872) is the work of
Claus Jensen
Claus William Jensen (born 29 April 1977) is a Danish professional football manager, and former player who is the manager of Danish 1st Division club Nykøbing FC. During his active playing career, he played as an attacking midfielder. Jensen ...
, the
altarpiece (1866) is a painting by
Adolph Tidemand
Adolph Tidemand (14 August 18148 August 1876) was a noted Norwegian romantic nationalism painter. Among his best known paintings are ''Haugianerne'' (''The Haugeans''; 1852) and '' Brudeferd i Hardanger'' (''The Bridal Procession in Hardanger'' ...
(the
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 ...
of Jesus),
chandeliers were designed by
Emanuel Vigeland
Emanuel Vigeland (2 December 1875 – 22 December 1948) was a multitalented Norwegian artist. He is known for a variety of decorations of Scandinavian churches and for ''Tomba Emmanuelle'', his mausoleum at Slemdal in Oslo. His elder brother ...
in 1923, and
Frøydis Haavardsholm
Frøydis Haavardsholm (1 April 1896 – 3 October 1984) was a Norway, Norwegian visual artist and book illustrator.
Biography
She was born at Tromsø in Troms, Norway. Her parents were Amund Haavardsholm (1860–1948) and Josefine Nielsen (1872â ...
was the designer of the
stained glass windows.
[Jens Christian Eldal and Kiri Havran: Kirker i Norge, volume 3: Med historiske forbilder. 1800-tallet (ARFO, 2002), page 120-123 In Norwegian]
See also
*
Octagonal churches in Norway
An octagonal church has an octagonal (eight-sided polygon) architectural plan. The exterior and the interior (the nave) may be shaped as eight-sided polygon with approximately equal sides or only the nave is eight-sided supplemented by choir and ...
Gallery: Interior
File:Trefoldighetskirken - 06.jpg, Interior
File:Trefoldighetskirken Alterbilde.JPG, The altarpiece by Adolph Tidemand
Adolph Tidemand (14 August 18148 August 1876) was a noted Norwegian romantic nationalism painter. Among his best known paintings are ''Haugianerne'' (''The Haugeans''; 1852) and '' Brudeferd i Hardanger'' (''The Bridal Procession in Hardanger'' ...
File:Trefoldighetskirken Døpefont engel1.JPG, Baptismal font
File:Trefoldighetskirken Engel og lysekrone.JPG, The chandelier in Trinity Church. Created by Emanuel Vigeland
Emanuel Vigeland (2 December 1875 – 22 December 1948) was a multitalented Norwegian artist. He is known for a variety of decorations of Scandinavian churches and for ''Tomba Emmanuelle'', his mausoleum at Slemdal in Oslo. His elder brother ...
File:Trefoldighetskirken Kapitèl galeri.JPG, Detail of a capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital (from the Latin ''caput'', or "head") or chapiter forms the topmost member of a column (or a pilaster). It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's suppor ...
Gallery: Stained glass
File:Trefoldighetskirken Glassmaleri Israel.JPG, "The history of Israel"
File:Trefoldighetskirken Glassmaleri Lidelseshistorien.JPG, "Jesus suffering"
File:Trefoldighetskirken Glassmaleri skapelsen.JPG, "The creation"
File:Trefoldighetskirken Glassmaleri såkorn.JPG, "''The wheat grain''"
File:Trefoldighetskirken Glassmaleri perlen.JPG, "''The pearl''"
File:Trefoldighetskirken Glassmaleri Livets vann.JPG, "''The water of life''"
File:Trefoldighetskirken Glassmaleri Livets tre.JPG, "''The tree of life''"
External links
Official website in Norwegian
References
{{Churches in Oslo arch-deanery
Lutheran churches in Oslo
Churches completed in 1858
1858 establishments in Norway
19th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Trinity Churches in Norway
Octagonal churches in Norway
Cruciform churches in Norway
Church buildings with domes