Tønsberg Cathedral
Tønsberg Cathedral | |
---|---|
Tønsberg domkirke | |
Tønsberg domprosti | |
Parish | Tønsberg domkirke |
Type | Church |
Status | Listed |
ID | 85705 |
Tønsberg Cathedral (
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.[3]
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
There have been various descriptions of the church's appearance, but one famous description portrays the church's "large respectable choir 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. 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.[4]
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.[4]
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
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
After
Media gallery
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The cathedral, located in central Tønsberg
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Interior, Tønsberg Cathedral during a service.
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Statue of Svend Foyn by Anders Svor from 1915
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Drawing of the city from 1868 including the spire of the church
See also
References
- ^ "Tønsberg domkirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Murarkitektur i Tønsberg: Tønsberg Domkirke". artemisia.no (in Norwegian).
- ^ a b c "Lavranskirken (Tønsberg)". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Tønsberg domkirke - Lavranskirkens kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Tønsberg domkirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "About Tønsberg Cathedral". visittonsberg.com.
- ^ "Jacob Pederssøn Lindgaard". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ Elisabeth Elster. "Christopher Borch". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ "Andes Svor". Anders Svor Museum. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ "Laurentiuskirken (Tønsberg)". lokalhistoriewiki.no. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
External links