Skien Church

Skien Church is a Neo-Gothic church from 1894, located in Skien, Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway.

Skien Church
Skien kirke
Grenlandskatedralen
Skien Church
Skien Church
59°12′37″N 9°36′23″E
LocationSkien, Vestfold og Telemark
CountryNorway
Denomination Church of Norway
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
Websitewww.skienkirke.no
History
StatusParish church
ConsecratedAugust 31, 1894
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)Martin Hagbarth Schytte-Berg
StyleNeo Gothic
Jugendstil
Specifications
Capacity1200
MaterialsBrick
Administration
ParishSkien
DeanerySkien
DioceseDiocese of Agder og Telemark

Overview

The church is the main church in Skien and has 1,200 seats. The church is 47 meters long with a tower height of 68 meters for two twin towers, the interior height is 17 meters. The church was designed by architect Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg (1860-1944). Inspiration was taken from the German architects John Vollmer and John Otzens. The church was consecrated on August 31, 1894 by Bishop Johan Christian Heuch (Church of Norway) of the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.[1] [2]

The organ in Skien Church is one of the largest in Norway with over 5000 pipes. Skien Church has a combination of Neo-Gothic pointed arches and circular arches. In the chancel arch we see the arch, transept has also pointed arches at the top, while the galleries and the longitudinal side ships have round arches. The artistic decoration in Skien Church is primarily characterized by stained-glass windows in the choir, transept, baptism sacristy, and the ornamentation on the walls and ceilings.

Former churches

A building known as Skien Old Church used to exist on the marketplace but was lost in the great fire of 1886. An interim church was erected on Marensro.[3] The interim church was converted to a school building when a new and more adequate church was erected in brick on the Lie in 1894. The temporary church was demolished by the municipality of Skien on 31 March 2011.[4]

Building of the current church

The current church was built on the basis of expectations that Skien would become a seat of a bishop and that the new church was to become Cathedral, which did not occur. During the World War II the parish was redefined by the occupation Quisling government, and was called Skien Cathedral up to the war was over and the former, geographical division of dioceses was reinstated.[5]

  • Stained glass window
  • Church pulpit
  • Church organ
  • Church vault
  • Skien Church's altar piece is shaped like a church facade with portals and towers and surrounded by stained glass windows

References
  1. "Om arkitekten". villabergfall. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  2. "Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  3. Telemarksavisas article Skiens ukjente kirke in Norwegian.
  4. Telemarksavisa, pictures of demolishing Skiens old interim church in Norwegian
  5. History and facts: The Church of Skien Archived 2011-08-27 at the Wayback Machine (Skien Municipality, in English)
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