Ullern Church (''Ullern kirke'') is a cruciform Romanesque church on the Holgerslyst property in the

Ullern Ullern is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The last element is ''vin'', meaning pasture or mea ...

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 ...

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 the parish church for the Ullern congregation in the Vestre Aker Deanery of the Diocese of Oslo. Ullern kirke OB

History

The church is built of stone in 1903 and has seating for 800 people. The cruciform structure is dominated by an imposing central tower. The tower is square and has three windows on each side. It is topped by a tall

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

covered in copper. The church was designed by the architect Harald Bødtker. The original plans for the church had been drawn up by

Georg Andreas Bull Georg Andreas Bull (26 March 1829 – 1 February 1917) was a Norwegian architect and chief building inspector in Christiania (now Oslo) for forty years. He was among the major architects in the country, and performed surveying studies and arche ...

, Oslo's city surveyor. The plans were reworked by the architect Johan Storm Munch (1862-1947) in 1899 and approved by the municipality. The drawings were lost that year, when the farm where Munch had his office burned down. The assignment then went to Harald Bødtker, who had just been hired as the municipal architect in Aker.

Interior

The church is dominated by its choir apse with the fresco ''The Ascension'', painted by

Eilif Peterssen Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen (4 September 1852 – 29 December 1928) was a Norwegian painter. He is most commonly associated with his landscapes and portraits. Biography Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen was born in Christiania, now Osl ...

in 1908–1909. It was created in close collaboration with

Domenico Erdmann Domenico Juul Erdmann (March 23, 1879 – October 5, 1940) was a Norwegian painter, designer, decorator, and conservation adviser. He was a technical consultant and executive conservator in a number of Norwegian churches.Tore Kirkholt''Store nor ...

. Over the altar, in front of the fresco, is a marble

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over hi ...

designed by Bødtker. The pulpit was also designed by Bødtker, and the baptismal font is from the company Johs Grønseth & Co. The stained glass dates from 1915 to 1915; it was designed and created by various artists, including Gabriel Kielland and Karl Kristiansen (1886–1971).

Cemetery

The church yard contains a cemetery (''Ullern kirkegård'') which is the final resting place to a number of notable Norwegian citizens including

Håkon Christie Håkon Andreas Christie (30 August 1922 – 14 December 2010) was a Norwegian architectural historian, antiquarian and author. Together with his wife, Sigrid Marie Christie (18 April 1923 - 16 May 2004) he worked from 1950 on the history of Nor ...

Chrix Dahl Chrix Dahl (5 January 1906 – 16 June 1994) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Biography Christian Axel Dahl was born in Kristiania (now Oslo) Norway. He was the eldest son of Christian Axel Dahl (1878-1918) and Elise Augusta Steen ( ...

Thorbjørn Egner Thorbjørn Egner (12 December 1912 – 24 December 1990) was a Norwegian playwright, songwriter and illustrator known principally for his books, plays and musicals for children. He is principally associated with his narratives for children includ ...

Carl Otto Løvenskiold Carl Otto Løvenskiold (23 December 1839 – 1 October 1916) was a Norwegian naval officer, business executive and landowner. He served as the Norwegian prime minister in Stockholm during 1884. By birth, he is a member of Løvenskiold noble fa ...

and Nic Schiøll.

References

Other sources

*Berit Harnæs Sivesind, ed. (2002) ''Fra landsted til kirkested: Ullern kirke og menighet gjennom 100 år: 1903–2003.'' (Ullern: Ullern menighetsråd)

External links

Ullern kirke
(Kulturminnesøk) {{Authority control Lutheran churches in Oslo Culture in Oslo Churches completed in 1903 1903 establishments in Norway Stone churches in Norway Cemeteries in Oslo 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings