Tønsberg Cathedral () is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

that is the episcopal seat of the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes all of the parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in the city of Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and ...

within the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

. It is located in the centre of the city of Tønsberg in Tønsberg Municipality in

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county,

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 ...

. It is the main church for the "Tønsberg domkirke"

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

which is part of the Tønsberg domprosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

. The brown brick church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity in Norway, 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 inst ...

design in 18 using plans drawn up 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 ...

. The church seats about 500 people. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status in 1948 when the Diocese of Tunsberg was created and separated from the

Diocese of Oslo The Diocese of Oslo is the Church of Norway's Diocese, bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese ...

History

St. Laurentius' Church

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1200, but the church was not built that year. The first church in Tønsberg was likely a wooden church that was built as early as 1018, according to the Saga of St. Olaf. In the early 12th century, the wooden church was torn down and replaced with a stone

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

church that was dedicated to St. Laurentius. That church was known as (St. Laurentius' Church). It was one of several churches in Tønsberg, one of the oldest towns in medieval Norway. The oldest customary episcopal seat in

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...

was likely located in Tønsberg with the episcopal complex at Teigar, and Lavranskirken is considered to have been built by the king as the bishop's cathedral. There have been various descriptions of the church's appearance, but one famous description portrays the church's "large respectable

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and its many immeasurably thick pillars". There are also some sketches that show the church room with rows of columns separating the main nave from the side naves, and with a choir with a curved

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. On drawings, the church is often depicted with roof trusses. It is also said that the church had a high tower. The choir was remodeled in the 13th century. The town fire in 1536 razed most of the town to the ground and significantly damaged the church. The church burned down again in 1683, but was rebuilt. Maintaining several centuries-old churches in Tønsberg started to become a problem during the late-1700s. In 1777, a demand was raised that the town should concentrate on maintaining only one church and it was decided to focus on St. Mary's Church, not the St. Laurentius' Church. The decision was made to demolish the St. Laurentius' Church in 1809. The demolition was carried out from 1810-1814 and most of the stone and other materials were sold to raise money for the town. After a 30 or so years, St. Mary's Church also became too small and in need of significant repairs. Eventually, it was decided to tear down the St. Mary's Church and build a new town hall and town square on that site and to build one new church for Tønsberg on the site of the old St. Laurentius' Church which had been torn down years earlier.

Present church

The new church was to be built on the site of the old St. Laurentius' Church which was torn down in 1814. Site was cleared an prepared in the autumn of 1855 and the

Christian Heinrich Grosch was hired to design the new

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

church. The granite foundation was laid in the spring of 1856 and the work progressed for two years. The church was built under the direction of Paul Thrane. The church was completed in 1858 and it was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by the Bishop Jens Lauritz Arup on 19 December 1858. Many of the interior furnishings of the church were taken from the old St. Mary and St. Laurentius Churches. The church has richly carved decorations including figures representing the

four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

and their personal symbols. The

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

altar was carved by Jens Jølsen in 1764. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

shows Jesus' struggle at

Gethsemane Gethsemane ( ) is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus Christ underwent the Agony in the Garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. The garden is ...

. It was painted in 1760 by Jacob Pederssøn Lindgaard (1719–1789). The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

, created by unknown local artisans, is from 1621. The church also owns two 16th-century

Holy Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

s, one from 1550 and one from 1589. The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

is by sculptor Christopher Borch (1817–1896) and was donated by

Svend Foyn Svend Foyn (July 9, 1809 – November 30, 1894) was a Norwegian whaling, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He pioneered revolutionary methods for hunting and processing whales. Svend Foyn introduced the modern harpoon cannon and brought ...

. In the grounds of the church, a bronze statue of Svend Foyn by the sculptor Anders Svor (1864–1929) was unveiled in 1915. The cathedral was remodeled in 1939 with a restoration led by architect Arnstein Arneberg. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the government voted to create the new

which would be based in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

. The Tønsberg Church was chosen to be the seat of the new diocese. On 20 June 1948, Tønsberg Church was re-

as a

. The first bishop to lead the new diocese was Bjarne Skard.

Media gallery

Tønsberg domkirke 2.jpg, The cathedral, located in central Tønsberg Tønsberg domkirke (Tønsberg Cathedral, Lutheran church built 1858) Norway 2020-08-25 Fasade mot Storgata Portal kirkedør (main entrance) (morning light) 03186.jpg Tønsberg domkirke (Tønsberg Cathedral, Lutheran church built 1858) Norway 2020-08-25 Nordside mot Nedre Slottsgate Tårn spir (tower) (morning light Parked cars ) 03133.jpg Tønsberg domkirke bakside.jpg Gudstjenesten i Tønsberg domkirke (2012).jpg, Interior, Tønsberg Cathedral during a service. Tønsberg domkirke Norway Svend Foyn statue 2015-09-25 cropped distorted panorama 01.jpg, Statue of Svend Foyn by Anders Svor from 1915 Nordiska taflor - no-nb digibok 2014031426013-133.jpg, Drawing of the city from 1868 including the spire of the church

References

External links

Tønsberg Domkirke Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonsberg Cathedral

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...