Arctic Cathedral

Tromsdalen Church or the Arctic Cathedral (Norwegian: Tromsdalen kirke, Ishavskatedralen) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tromsø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the Tromsdalen valley on the east side of the city of Tromsø. It is the church for the Tromsøysund parish which is part of the Tromsø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. The modern concrete and metal church was built in a long church style in 1965 by the architect Jan Inge Hovig. The church seats about 600 people.[4][5]

Not to be confused with Tromsø Cathedral.

Tromsdalen Church
Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen) Tromsøysund kirke / Tromsdalen kirke
View of the church
Tromsdalen Church Location in Troms Show map of Troms og Finnmark Tromsdalen Church Tromsdalen Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
Location	Tromsø, Troms og Finnmark
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Website	http://www.ishavskatedralen.no
History
Status	Parish church
Consecrated	19 November 1965[1]
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Jan Inge Hovig[2]
Architectural type	Long church
Groundbreaking	1 April 1964[3]
Completed	1965
Construction cost	4,169,815 kr[3]
Specifications
Capacity	600
Materials	Cast-in-place aluminium-coated concrete panels[2]
Administration
Parish	Tromsøysund
Deanery	Tromsø domprosti
Diocese	Nord-Hålogaland

Name

Formally, the church is named Tromsdalen Church or sometimes Tromsøysund Church (Norwegian: Tromsdalen kirke or Tromsøysund kirke). The church is commonly nicknamed the Ishavskatedralen which literally means "The Cathedral of the Arctic Sea" or simply the "Arctic Cathedral". Despite its nickname, it is a parish church and not, in fact, a cathedral as it is commonly called.[1]

Construction

The church was designed by the architect Jan Inge Hovig and is built mainly of concrete. The main contractor for the construction was Ing. F. Selmer A/S Tromsø.[3] The church is one of the most notable churches in Tromsø due to its design, although Tromsø does have another church of interest, Tromsø Cathedral, which is noted for being the only wooden cathedral in Norway.

The groundbreaking of the church was 1 April 1964 and it was completed in 1965.[3] The new church was consecrated on 19 November 1965 by the Bishop Monrad Norderval.[1] The church is built out of cast-in-place aluminium-coated concrete panels.[2]

In 1972, a glass mosaic was added to the eastern side, made by Victor Sparre.[2] The church acquired an organ built by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri in 2005, with three manuals, pedal, 42 stops, and 2940 pipes.[1] It replaced the old opus nr. 12 organ delivered by Vestlandske Orgelverksted, Hareid, which had 22 voices and 124 keys.

Gallery

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See also

• List of churches in Troms
• Church of Norway
• Tromsø Cathedral – the Cathedral of the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland

References

1. "Ishavskatetralen: The Cathedral". Tromsdalen Kirke. Archived from the original on 7 December 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
2. Arkitektguide Nord-Norge og Svalbard. "Tromsdalen kirke".
3. Visit Tromsø. "Ishavskatedralen". Archived from the original on 23 February 2013.
4. "Tromsdalen kirke, Ishavskatedralen". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
5. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 20 July 2018.

External links

• The Arctic Cathedral