Vålerenga Kirke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vålerenga Kirke (Vålerenga Church) is a church located in the Norwegian capital Oslo. The church belongs to the Church of Norway, which is an evangelical and lutheran church.
The church was built in late 19th century, and was consecrated in 1902. The architects were Heinrich Jürgensen and Holger Sinding-Larsen. The church is built in Neo-Gothic style, like most of the Norwegian churches built during this period of time. Vålerenga Kirke is special architectonically because of its asymmetrically placed church tower, Norway's first of its kind.
A fire in 1979 burned the church to the ground. The church was almost totally destroyed. Only the outer walls, made of stone, were left standing. Frescoes and Stained glass windows made by Emanuel Vigeland were lost.
The church was rebuilt, and reconsecrated in 1984. New pieces of art were made by the artists Emanuel Vigeland and Håkon Bleken.
The fire is the topic of a song named Vålerenga Kjerke, composed by Trond Ingebrigtsen and recorded by his band Bjølsen Valsemølle. This song is sung by the supporters of the football (soccer) club Vålerenga I.F. before kick offs. Lyrics and mp3 download of "Vålerenga Kjerke" can be downloaded here.
The priest of the congregation belonging to the church is The Reverend Mr. Einar Gelius. Gelius is a left wing liberal, and is frowned upon by the christian right.
[edit] References
Yahoo! Travel. Retrieved on July 5, 2005.
Vålerenga kirke from the Norwegian(bokmål)-language Wikipedia. Retrieved July 5, 2005.
