St John's Church, Bergen

St. John's Church (Norwegian: Johanneskirken) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Sydnes area of the city of Bergen. It is one of the five churches for the Bergen Cathedral parish which is part of the Bergen domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The red brick church was built in a cruciform design between 1891 and 1894 in the Gothic Revival style. The architect was Herman Backer. The church seats about 1250 people, making it the largest church in Bergen.[1][2] It was consecrated on 15 March 1894.[3]

St. John's Church
Johanneskirken
View of the church
St. John's Church Location of the church Show map of Vestland St. John's Church St. John's Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
60.3885°N 5.3193°E / 60.3885; 5.3193
Location	Bergen, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1885
Consecrated	15 March 1894
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Herman Major Backer Adolf Fischer Hans Heinrich Jess
Architectural type	Cruciform
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1888
Completed	1894
Specifications
Capacity	1250
Height	61 metres (200 ft)
Materials	Brick
Administration
Parish	Bergen domkirke
Deanery	Bergen domprosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Listed
ID	84737

History

On 1 January 1885, the new parish of St. John was created out of the large Bergen Cathedral parish. In 1888, an architectural contest was conducted for the design of a new church. It was built from drawings by the architect Herman Major Backer (1856–1932). On 27 November 1891, the cornerstone was laid. The building process was first led by architect Adolf Fischer and from 1891 by Hans Heinrich Jess. The church was consecrated on 15 March 1894. The frescoes in the Church's ceiling date from 1924 and were completed by Hugo Lous Mohr (1889–1970).[4][5][6]

The organ was built by Schlag & Söhne of Wurttemberg, Germany. It was modernized by Josef Hilmar Jørgensen of Oslo in 1967. The altarpiece depicts Christ in prayer and was designed in 1894 by Marcus Grønvold. The church tower is the highest in the city at 61 metres (200 ft). The main tower has four stair towers and a carillon. It was designed by Verein Bochum in Bochum, Westphalia.[5][7]

The church was a parish church for the St. John's parish in central Bergen from 1894 until 2002. In 2002, several urban parishes in central Bergen were merged to form the Bergen Cathedral parish (Norwegian: Bergen domprosti menighet), which includes five main churches.[8]

Media gallery

• 
  Drawing of the front
• 
  Aerial view
• 
  Front view from a distance
• 
  Rear entrance
• 
  View of roof with tower
• 
  View of roof
• 
  Interior
• 
  Altarpiece
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  Pulpit
• 
  Organ

References

1. "Johanneskirken". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
3. "Kirker i Hordaland fylke" (in Norwegian). DIS-Hordaland. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
4. Gunnar Hagen Hartvedt (1994). "Johanneskirken". Bergen Byleksikon. pp. 255–256.
5. "Johanneskirken" (in Norwegian). Bergen domkirke menighet. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
6. Magerøy, Hans-Ellen Marie; Lidén, Hans-Emil. "Johanneskirken" (in Norwegian). Norges Kirker. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
7. Lidén, Hans-Emil; Magerøy, Ellen Maria (1980). Norges kirker, Bergen (in Norwegian). Oslo. ISBN 8205123675.
8. "Johanneskirken" (in Norwegian). Bergen Byarkiv. Retrieved 14 August 2014.

External links

• Photos
• Media related to Johanneskirken at Wikimedia Commons