Vår Frue Church

Vår Frue Church (Norwegian: Vår Frue kirke / English: Our Lady's Church) is a medieval parish church of the Church of Norway in Trondheim municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the downtown Midtbyen area of the city of Trondheim, just a few blocks north of the Nidaros Cathedral. It is one of the two churches for the Nidaros og Vår Frue parish which is part of the Nidaros domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.[1][2][3]

This article is about the church in Trondheim. For the church in Porsgrunn, see Vår Frue Church (Porsgrunn). For other churches of the same name, see Church of Our Lady.

Vår Frue Church
Vår Frue kirke
View of the church
Vår Frue Church
Location of the church
Vår Frue Church
Vår Frue Church (Norway)
63.4302°N 10.3977°E / 63.4302; 10.3977
LocationTrondheim, Trøndelag
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
Previous denominationCatholic Church
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
StatusParish church
Foundedc. 1100s
DedicationMary (mother of Jesus)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)Bjørn Sigvardsson
Architectural typeLong church
StyleRomanesque and Gothic
Specifications
MaterialsStone
Administration
ParishNidaros og Vår Frue
DeaneryNidaros domprosti
DioceseNidaros

History
Drawing of Vår Frue kirke with dates of construction

Vår Frue Church is a stone church that was built in a long church plan with features of both the Romanesque and Gothic architectural style. The church was first constructed during the mid- to late-1100s by Bjørn Sigvardsson. The church has been damaged by fire several times. It has also been renovated, remodeled, and expanded several times in the centuries since that time. The oldest part of the existing church building dates back to the 12th century. [4]

Following the Protestant Reformation, the church was expanded westward, with the masonry in the original eastern parts preserved. The church was rebuilt after fires during the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Vår Frue Church was restored in 1739. The tower was built in 1742 with the spire erected in 1779. During the 1700s, church received baroque decor. [5] [6]

Much of the Baroque and Rococo interior were removed by restoration in the 1880s, led by architect Christian Christie (1832-1906), who also worked on the restoration of the Nidaros Cathedral. Christie made simplifications to the interior to bring it back partly to its former appearance during the Middle Ages. From 1957 to 1959, a new refurbishment was conducted, led by architect John Tverdahl (1890-1969). The church had a whitewashed exterior which was removed. The exterior masonry was knocked off so that the cobblestone stood bare as during the Medieval period. [7] [8]

The altarpiece was originally carved for Nidaros Cathedral by Heinrich Kühnemann (1711-1792) and dates to between 1742-1744. It was painted by J.N. Schavenius, and has figures cut by Jonas Granberg (1696-1776). In 1837 it was transferred to Vår Frue kirke. The pulpit was made in 1771 and it was restored 1957-1959. The baptismal font in the church is from 1898. [9] [10]

  • Altar and altarpiece of Vår Frue kirke
  • Side view of Vår Frue kirke
  • Drawing of Vår Frue kirke from c. 1770
  • Pulpit at Vår Frue kirke
  • View of the organ and back of the church
  • Location on old maps
  • View of the door
  • Roccoco wall
  • Front of the church
  • Bell tower

See also

References
  1. "Vår Frue kirke, Trondheim". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  3. Mæhlum, Lars, ed. (2014-06-29). "Vår Frue kirke – Trondheim". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  4. "Vår Frue kirke". Kulturminnesok. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  5. "Vår Frue Kirke". Trondheim kommune.
  6. "Vår Frues historie". Nidarosdomen.no.
  7. Dag Myklebust. "Christian Christie". Norsk kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  8. Svein Henrik Pedersen. "John Tverdahl". Norsk kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  9. "Vår Frue kirke (Trondheim)". lokalhistoriewiki. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  10. "Heinrich Kühnemann". lokalhistoriewiki. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  • Ekroll, Øystein (1997). Med kleber og kalk – Norsk steinbygging i mellomalderen (in Norwegian). Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget. ISBN 8252147542.
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