Tromsø Cathedral ( no, Tromsø 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 ...

located in the city of Tromsø in

Tromsø Municipality Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

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 ...

. The cathedral is the church for the ''Tromsø Domkirkens''

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 ...

and it is the headquarters for the Tromsø domprosti (arch-

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

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 Tromsø ...

. This cathedral is notable since it is the only Norwegian

made of wood. The yellow, wooden cathedral 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 ...

format and in the

Gothic Revival 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 ...

style in 1861 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 ...

Christian Heinrich Grosch Christian Heinrich Grosch (21 January 1801 – 4 May 1865) was a Norwegian architect. He was a dominant figure in Norwegian architecture in the first half of the 1800s. Biography Christian Heinrich Grosch was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. H ...

. The church tower and main entrance are on the west front. It is probably the northernmost Protestant cathedral in the world. With over 600 seats, it is one of Norway's biggest wooden churches. It originally held about 984 seats, but many benches and seats have been removed over the years to make room for tables in the back of the church.

History

The structure was completed in 1861 after the diocese was established in 1844.

was the

. It was built using a cog joint method. It is situated in the middle of the city of Tromsø (on the island of

Tromsøya or is an island in Tromsø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It lies in the Tromsøysundet strait between the mainland and the larger island of Kvaløya. The city of Tromsø is located on the island, which has 39,882 residents ...

) on a site where in all likelihood there has been a church since the 13th century. The first church in Tromsø was built in 1252 by King

Haakon IV Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...

as a royal chapel. It belonged to the king, therefore, not the Catholic Church. This church is mentioned several times in the

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 a ...

as "St. Mary's near the Heathens" (''Sanctae Mariae juxta Pagano''). Not much is known about the previous churches on the site, but it is known that in 1711 a new church was built on this site. That church was replaced in 1803. That church was moved out of the city in 1860 to make way for the building of the present cathedral. The 1803 church building was relocated to an area a few hundred metres south of the city boundary and then in the early 1970s it was moved again to the site of the present

Elverhøy Church Elverhøy Church ( no, Elverhøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the city of Tromsø. It is the church for the Elverhøy parish which is part of the Tromsø dom ...

further up the hills in the city. This church is still there and contains a number of pieces of art that have adorned the churches in Tromsø from the Middle Ages, the oldest of which is a figure of the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, possibly of the 15th century. The present cathedral 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 1 December 1861 by the Bishop

Carl Peter Essendrop Carl Peter Parelius Essendrop (6 June 1818 – 18 October 1893) was a Norwegian Lutheran priest, educator and Bishop of Oslo. Biography Essendrop was born Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Peter Essendrop (1776-1819) and ...

. In 1862, the bell tower was completed and the bell was installed. All of the interior decorations and art were not completed until the 1880s. The cathedral cost about 10,000

Speciedaler The rigsdaler specie was a unit of silver currency used in Norway, renamed as the speciedaler in 1816 and used until 1873. Norway used a common reichsthaler currency system shared with Denmark, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until 1873 when the go ...

s to build.

Interior

The cathedral interior is dominated by the altar with a copy of the painting ''Resurrection'' by the noted artist

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''; ...

. Under the picture is a quote from the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

Stained glass window 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 ...

s in the front of the church, designed by

Gustav Vigeland Gustav Vigeland (11 April 1869 – 12 March 1943), born as Adolf Gustav Thorsen, was a Norwegian sculptor. Gustav Vigeland occupies a special position among Norwegian sculptors, both in the power of his creative imagination and in his product ...

, were installed in 1960.

Media gallery

Catedral, Tromsø, Noruega, 2019-09-04, DD 45.jpg Catedral, Tromsø, Noruega, 2019-09-04, DD 67.jpg Catedral, Tromsø, Noruega, 2019-09-04, DD 68.jpg 2010-08-02 - Tromsø - Domkirche - panoramio.jpg, 23 Tromso Cathedral (5618698710).jpg, Domkirkesor.jpg, Tromso Cathedral - Flickr - GregTheBusker.jpg, Tromso Tromsø Norway tunliweb 03.jpg, Tromsø Norway - Kirkegata Domkirken kirkeparken arbeider Richard Withs plass 2017-09-14.jpg, Catedral, Tromsø, Noruega, 2019-09-04, DD 61-63 HDR.jpg Catedral, Tromsø, Noruega, 2019-09-04, DD 55-57 HDR.jpg Catedral, Tromsø, Noruega, 2019-09-04, DD 64-66 HDR.jpg Kirkeklokke Tromsø domkirke.jpg,

References

External links

Picture of Tromsø Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tromso Cathedral Churches in Tromsø Churches in Troms Cathedrals in Norway Lutheran cathedrals in Norway Gothic Revival church buildings in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1861 13th-century establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway

History

Interior

Media gallery

See also

References

External links