St. John's Church ( no, Johanneskirken) 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 in

Bergen Municipality Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Vestland Vestland is a 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 city of Bergen, where 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 the ...

. It is located in the Sydnes area of the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. It is one of the five churches for the Bergen Cathedral

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 o ...

which is part of the Bergen domprosti (arch- deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. 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 describe ...

design between 1891 and 1894 in the Gothic Revival style. 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 ...

was Herman Backer. The church seats about 1250 people, making it the largest church in Bergen. It was consecrated on 15 March 1894.

History

On 1 January 1885, the new parish of St. John was created out of the large Bergen Cathedral parish. In 1888, an architectural contest was conducted for the design of a new church. It was built from drawings by the architect Herman Major Backer (1856–1932). On 27 November 1891, the

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was laid. The building process was first led by architect Adolf Fischer and from 1891 by Hans Heinrich Jess. The church was consecrated on 15 March 1894. The

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

in the Church's ceiling date from 1924 and were completed by Hugo Lous Mohr (1889–1970). The organ was built by Schlag & Söhne of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

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 ...

. It was modernized by

Josef Hilmar Jørgensen Josef Hilmar Jørgensen (March 28, 1892 – November 2, 1961) was a Norwegian organ builder. Jørgensen was the owner of the J. H. Jørgensen organ company. The company was originally called Olsen & Jørgensen from 1892 to 1925Frisk, Anna, Sver ...

of Oslo in 1967. The altarpiece depicts Christ in prayer and was designed in 1894 by

Marcus Grønvold Marcus Frederik Steen Grønvold (5 July 1845 – 10 October 1929) was a Norwegian painter. He painted genre scenes, historical and religious motifs and portraits as well as landscapes. Biography Grønvold was born in Bergen, Norway. His fath ...

. The church tower is the highest in the city at . The main tower has four stair towers and a carillon. It was designed by Verein Bochum in Bochum,

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. The church was a

for the St. John's parish in central

from 1894 until 2002. In 2002, several urban parishes in central Bergen were merged to form the Bergen Cathedral parish ( no, Bergen domprosti menighet), which includes five main churches.

Media gallery

Johanneskirken, Bergen, drawing.JPG, Drawing of the front Vista de Johanneskirken desde la montaña Fløyen, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 45.jpg, Aerial view Bergen01.jpg, Front view from a distance Johanneskirken Bergen Norway 1.JPG, Rear entrance Johanneskirken Bergen Norway 2.JPG, View of roof with tower Johanneskirken Bergen Norway 3.JPG, View of roof Johanneskirken, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 78-80 HDR.jpg, Interior Johanneskirken, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 75-77 HDR.jpg, Altarpiece Johanneskyrkja preikestol.jpg, Pulpit Johanneskirken, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 72-74 HDR.jpg, Organ

References

External links

Photos
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Church, Bergen Churches in Bergen Brick churches in Norway Cruciform churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1894 1885 establishments in Norway Event venues established in 1894