Bergen Cathedral ( no, Bergen 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 denominations ...

in the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. It is the episcopal seat of the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

as well as the seat of the "Bergen domkirke"

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 ...

and the seat of the Bergen 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 reside ...

). It is part 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 ...

. The first recorded historical reference to this church is dated 1181. It retains its ancient dedication to Saint Olaf. The cathedral seats about 900 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1181, when the peasant chief Jon Kutiza attacked

King Sverre Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party ...

in Bergen. According to ''

Sverris saga ''Sverris saga'' is one of the Kings' sagas. Its subject is King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway (r. 1177–1202) and it is the main source for this period of Norwegian history. As the foreword tells us, the saga in its final form consists of mo ...

'', some of Sverre's men then fled into the church (then known as ''Olavskirken'' because it was dedicated to Saint Olaf). At that time, the church was probably a regular parish church, but later, during the reign of King

Haakon IV of Norway 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 ...

(1217–63),

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monks must have taken over the church and built a

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

by it. The medieval cathedral was instead Christ Church at

Bergenhus Fortress Bergenhus fortress ( no, Bergenhus festning) is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway. History The fortress contains ...

, a medieval royal residence in Bergen. The first church built here had 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 ...

design in the Romanesque style. 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-typ ...

measured about and 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 ...

was including 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''. ...

. Not much else is known about the first stone church on this site. The old church burned down in 1248 during a large city-wide fire and afterwards, a new stone church was built on the same site. Part of the north wall of the old church was salvaged and incorporated into the new church design. There was another fire in the church in 1270 and

Magnus Lagabøte Magnus Haakonsson ( non, Magnús Hákonarson, no, Magnus Håkonsson, label=Modern Norwegian; 1 (or 3) May 1238 – 9 May 1280) was King of Norway (as Magnus VI) from 1263 to 1280 (junior king from 1257). One of his greatest achievements was the m ...

financed the repairs afterwards. In 1463, it burned down again, but it was not fully reconstructed until the 1550s. In 1537, it was decided that the church would be the new cathedral for the diocese to replace the old cathedral at Holmen which was demolished in 1531. Despite being declared the cathedral of the post-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Protestant diocese, the church was not fully rebuilt after the fire in 1463. Bergen's first Protestant bishop,

Gjeble Pederssøn Gjeble Pederssøn (c.1490 – 9 March 1557) was a Norwegian priest who was the first Lutheran bishop in Norway. Pederssøn was born at Teigstad, Dønna in Nordland, Norway. His father was a councilman in Bergen. He went to school in Trondhe ...

, arranged for the completion of the church and it was completed before his death in 1557. After the fires of 1623 and 1640, Bergen Cathedral received its current general appearance. The steeple on the

that was built by Bishop Pederssøn, was torn down, and the current tower on the west end was built. As part of the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...

, the 1665

Battle of Vågen The Battle of Vågen was a naval battle between a Dutch merchant and treasure fleet; and an English flotilla of warships in August 1665 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The battle took place in Vågen (meaning "the bay, voe" in Norweg ...

took place in the main port area of Bergen. A cannonball from the sea battle between the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

fleets remains embedded in the cathedral's exterior wall. In 1702, there was an extensive renovation and restoration project that was undertaken after another city-wide fire. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church ( no, valgkirke) is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national election ...

( no, valgkirke). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised t ...

which wrote the

Constitution of Norway nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction = Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , ...

. This was Norway's first national elections. Each

church 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 ...

was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information ...

later that year. During the renovation in the 1880s, under the direction of architects

Christian Christie Eilert Christian Brodtkorb Christie (24 December 1832 – 13 September 1906) was a Norwegian architect. Personal life He was born in Bergen as a son of customs officer Werner Hosewinckel Christie (1785–1872) and Hansine Langsted (1802–1864 ...

and

Peter Andreas Blix Peter Andreas Blix (4 November 1831 – 31 January 1901) was a Norwegian architect and engineer best known for designing railway stations and villas in Swiss chalet style. He was also occupied with the conservation of Norwegian stave churches and ...

, the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

interiors were restored to their former

medieval 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 ...

appearance.

Music

The present

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 ...

at Bergen Cathedral, by

Rieger Orgelbau Rieger Orgelbau is an Austrian firm of organ builders, known generally as Rieger. The firm was founded by Franz Rieger. From 1873 it was known as Rieger & Söhne, and from 1879 as Gebrüder Rieger, after his sons took over. At the end of World War ...

, is from 1997. The organ is the fifth one in the cathedral's history; the first known organ was installed in 1549. The cathedral is used regularly for musical concerts.

Media gallery

Domkirken, Bergen.....jpg, Exterior Domkirken.bg.2.jpg, Sanctuary Bergen Domkirke RK 83876 IMG 5434.jpg, Exterior window Domkirken bg 4.jpg, Cannonball in the wall Domkirken.bg.3.jpg, Interior support pillars Bergen Domkirke RK 83876 IMG 5432.jpg , Window Catedral, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 111.jpg, Tower Bergen - Cathédrale - Choeur.JPG, Altar Bergen - Cathédrale - Orgue.JPG, Choir loft Bergen Cathedral Organ.jpg , Organ

References

External links

*
Bergenskartet - Kirker og klostre - Bergen Domkirke
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Cathedrals in Norway Lutheran cathedrals in Norway Churches in Bergen Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 13th-century churches in Norway Churches completed in the 1250s 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church Churches dedicated to Saint Olav in Norway

History

Music

Media gallery

See also

References

External links