Formerly known as Our Savior’s Church, Oslo Cathedral has been restored and renovated throughout the centuries.
Before the cathedral’s construction (1694–1697), the city already had two cathedrals, one dating from the 12th century and another from the early 17th century. In 1686, a city fire damaged an earlier cathedral, leading to the construction of a new church, this one in a cruciform shape. The diocese of Oslo consecrated the church in 1697 as its main church and the parish church for downtown Oslo.
Between 1848 and 1850, German architect Alexis de Chateauneuf began to replace the Baroque interior with a neo-Gothic interior, following 19th-century fashion, and added a tower. When Chateauneuf became ill, another German-born architect, Heinrich Ernst Schirmer, completed the project.
In the 1950s, Oslo Cathedral was restored to its original Baroque style in celebration of the city’s 900th anniversary. Under the direction of architect Arnstein Arneberg, some of the neo-Gothic elements were removed from the church hall, including the ceiling ribs, and some of the original furnishings were reinstalled. During that renovation period, Arneberg also designed the south side chapel, and artist Hugo Lous Mohr (1889–1970) painted the famous ceiling decorations. The cathedral was restored most recently from 2006 to 2010.
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Ariane Triebswetter
Author
Ariane Triebswetter is an international freelance journalist, with a background in modern literature and classical music.