Skien Church

The church is {{convert|47|m}} long with a tower height of {{convert|68|m}} for two twin towers, and the interior height is {{convert|17|m}}. The church is shaped like a Latin cross where it stands on a ridge overlooking the harbour, which reinforces the effect of the sky-reaching towers. The church cost {{NOK|415,000|link=yes}} (in 1894) to build.

The organ in Skien Church is one of the largest in Norway with over 5000 pipes. Skien Church has a combination of Neo-Gothic pointed arches and circular arches. In the chancel arch we see the arch, transept has also pointed arches at the top, while the galleries and the longitudinal side ships have round arches. The artistic decoration in Skien Church is primarily characterized by stained-glass windows in the choir, transept, baptism sacristy, and the ornamentation on the walls and ceilings.

The church was built in 1894 on the basis of the possible expectation that Telemark county would become its own diocese within the Church of Norway. This church would become a seat of a bishop and that the new church was to become Cathedral, but this did not occur. During World War II the diocese was created by the occupation Quisling government, and this church was called Skien Cathedral during the war and the Quisling government. After the war, the former geographical division of dioceses was reinstated.{{Cite web |title=History and facts: The Church of Skien |url=http://skien.kommune.no/Om-Skien/History-and-facts/The-Church-of-Skien/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827100339/http://skien.kommune.no/Om-Skien/History-and-facts/The-Church-of-Skien/ |archive-date=2011-08-27}}

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1400, but the church was not built that year. The first church in Skien was a stone church that was possibly built during the 13th century. The church was located closer to the harbour, about {{convert|350|m}} to the southeast of the present church site. The original site was on a hill, about {{convert|6|m}} above the rest of the town. The church had a {{convert|6x7|m|adj=on}} choir and an {{convert|11x11|m}} nave.{{Cite web |title=Skien gamle kirkested |url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=212638 |access-date=2022-12-26 |publisher=Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage |language=Norwegian}}{{Cite web |title=Skien kirke |url=https://www.norske-kirker.net/home/telemark/skien-kirke/ |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=Norges-Kirker.no |language=Norwegian}}

In 1777, there was a fire in Skien which burned down the old church. The professor and architect Jørgen Henrich Rawert was commissioned to build a new church. He designed a stone cruciform building. The new church was nicknamed Christianskirken, after the current King of Denmark-Norway, Christian VII. This building was Rawert's first monumental work in Norway. As a model for the interior, he has used the 20-year-old Kongsberg Church. The new building took over six years to build. Throughout the project the expected soared, double what was planned, so a large fundraising campaign was launched to pay for the project. The church was built as a cruciform church with a massive tower in the middle. The tower did not have a spire, but instead a tower cap crowned by a cross. The new church had seating for about 1,176 people. There were beautiful windows with white curtains with red fringes and tassels. The altar, altarpiece, pulpit, and organ were placed one above the other in a so-called pulpit altar setup. The altarpiece was a painting depicting the burial of Christ.

In 1886, a fire broke out again in the town of Skien, and the church burned again and it was not salvageable. The only items saved were the baptismal font (made by the sculptor Ole Henriksen), the holy vessels, two gilded wooden figures Troen and Haabet (made by carver Jacob Christian Holler), and the altarpiece painting. An interim church was erected at Marensro shortly after the fire. The interim church was used from 1886 until 1894 when the new church was finally completed. Afterwards, the interim church was converted to a school building. (The temporary church was demolished by the municipality of Skien on 31 March 2011 - see photos of the demolition [https://www.ta.no/bildeserier/her-rives-marensro/g/1-111-5549620 here]).{{Cite news |last=Hagen |first=Dan |date=2010-04-14 |title=Skiens ukjente kirke |language=Norwegian |work=Telemarksavisa |url=http://www.ta.no/pulsen/article5071039.ece}}

Afterwards, an architectural competition was held to design the new church. There was no clear winner, so a second competition was held. That time, Hagbarth Schytte-Berg emerged victorious and was chosen to design the building.{{Cite web |title=Om arkitekten |url=https://villabergfall.com/om-arkitekten/ |access-date=2016-09-01 |publisher=villabergfall}}{{Cite web |title=Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg |url=https://snl.no/Hagbarth_Martin_Schytte-Berg |access-date=2016-09-01 |publisher=Store norske leksikon}} The master builder named Lorentz Christian Wagle from Arendal was hired to lead the construction. It was decided to build the church on a new site, about {{convert|350|m}} to the northwest of the old church site. The new church is a neo-Gothic cruciform building in unpolished red brick with tall, slender twin towers at the entrance on the southeast side. The architect's inspiration was taken from the German architects John Vollmer and John Otzens. The new church was consecrated on 31 August 1894 by the Bishop Johan Christian Heuch.{{Cite web |title=Skien kirkested / Skien kirke 3 |url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=85454 |access-date=2022-12-26 |publisher=Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage |language=Norwegian}}

There have been some major maintenance problems with the church over the years. In 1920-1922, some of the facade bricks were replaced. In 1960-1961, there were many cracks in the exterior facade that were repaired. In 1969-1970, the interior of the church was repainted with new colors. In 1985-1987, the foundation was rebuilt under the towers and the nave. In 2004, the exterior brick facade was replaced again.{{Cite web |title=Skien kirke |url=https://skien.kirken.no/artikkel/skien-kirke |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=Skien kirkelige fellesråd |language=no}}

Skien Kirke (tvillingetårn).jpg|Front facade

Skien kirke church Grenlandskatedralen Neo-Gothic nygotisk 1894 68 m twin towers Norway 2019-09-01DSC05724.jpg|Main entrance

Glasmaleri af Pelikan i Skien Kirke.JPG|Stained glass window

Prekestol Skien.JPG|Church pulpit

Orgel Skien kirke.JPG|Church organ

Hvælvinger i Skien Kirke.JPG|Church vault

Alter Skien Kirke.JPG|Skien Church's altar piece is shaped like a church facade with portals and towers and surrounded by stained glass windows

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.skienkirke.no/}}

{{Commons category|Skien kirke}}

{{Churches in Skien}}

{{Authority control}}

{{use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Skien

Category:Churches in Telemark

Category:Cruciform churches in Norway

Category:Brick churches in Norway

Category:19th-century Church of Norway church buildings

Category:Churches completed in 1894

Category:13th-century establishments in Norway

Category:Art Nouveau church buildings in Norway

Category:Event venues established in 1894