The Holy Cross Church () was a small

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

for the northern part of the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

was rediscovered in 1922 and is now a part of

Minneparken Minneparken is situated in Gamle Oslo adjacent to Oslo torg at Gamlebyen in Oslo, Norway. The park is bounded by St. Hallvards plass and Oslo gate in the west, Bispegata in the south, St. Halvards gate in the southeast, Egedes gate in the ...

containing the ruins of the church and the larger St. Hallvard's Cathedral.

History

There is no definitive information about when the church was built. The church is not mentioned in the accounts of the fighting in Oslo in 1240 between King

Haakon IV Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; ; ), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haako ...

and Duke Skule, suggesting that the church was built prior to the battle. In 1989, a stick with

runic inscriptions A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of E ...

, dated to the first half of the 13th century, was found. The name 'Holy Cross Church' occurs in these inscriptions, and it indicates that it may be older than 1240. When the church was built, it was located far north in the city, and an urban development north of the church came in the second half of the 13th century and the 14th century. The Holy Cross Church had an entrance from the west, from the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

, and an entrance directly to the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

from the south. The remains of the original

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

foundation are visible. Around the church sit the remains of the cemetery wall.Holy Cross Church (Korskirken)
at Norske Kirkebygg

References

Church ruins in Oslo Archaeological sites in Norway Oslo Old Town {{Oslo-church-stub