Northern Lights Cathedral
The Northern Lights Cathedral - Alta Church is the largest church in the northern Norwegian city of Alta . The sacred building of the Norwegian Church was built from 2011 to 2013 according to plans by Kolbjørn Jenssen in collaboration with Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen Architects , Århus, and on February 10, 2013 by Bishop Per Oskar Kjølaas in the presence of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and numerous representatives of the public Dedicated to life.
history
The foundation stone of the Northern Lights Cathedral was laid on New Year's Eve 1999 by Mayor Eva Nielsen and parish priest Olav Øygard. On the same day Alta was given official city status (city of the northern lights). The foundation stone was removed a few years later because the site of the church had been moved. On August 18, 2012, the foundation stone was laid again, with revised content, by Pastors Olav Øygard and Monica Nielsen (daughter of Eva Nielsen). The new mayorships Laila Davidsen and Bishop Per Oskar Kjølaas laid an additional foundation stone. Both corner stones in the front church foundation contain, among other things, a Bible, a hymn book, the Sami New Tastament , a parish journal and newspapers, official coin sets from 1999 and 2012, drawings and cost overviews, pictures and information.
The name "Northern Lights Cathedral Alta Church" was chosen on April 11, 2012 by the diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. As early as 1999, when Alta adopted the name "City of Northern Lights", the name "Northern Lights Cathedral" was used. Still, it took a few years for the name to be officially accepted and approved.
architecture
The church is made entirely of concrete and the outside is clad with titanium plates. The altar wall was treated with a blue glaze to better accentuate the figure of Christ standing in front of it.
The interior of the church is also made of concrete, all wooden details, chairs and the floor are made of solid oak. The interior walls of the church were clad with a total of 800 meters of vertical strips that are illuminated by light emitting diodes . This creates a warm and soft light. The strips thus contribute equally to a pleasant atmosphere and good acoustics.
Facility
The interior decoration was created by the artist Peter Brandes from Denmark. The 4.3 meter high figure of Christ is cast from bronze and weighs about two tons including the base. The patina is worked in such a way that the figure is darker at the bottom and lighter to golden at the top, in order to symbolically reflect God's light.
The baptismal font is made of marble stucco in 32 different shades of blue and a crystal clear basin. In the middle of the basin, the star of Bethlehem - for God the Father - and a fish - for Christ - are depicted in gold. Dove feathers are depicted on the edge of the pool to symbolize the Holy Spirit .
A golden Jacob's ladder hangs in the 7.5 meter high inner tower. The tower is also a light tunnel that you can walk through. On the outside of the tunnel of light, the 12 apostles are depicted in golden mosaics .
The organ was inaugurated on Palm Sunday 2014 and is a gift from the Alta Kraftlag energy supply company . The Swedish organ builder Grönlund built it with 29 registers and 1,800 pipes.
The inscription on one church bell expresses the vision of the Alta community: “ Close to God - close to people. We want to be: giving - caring - bringing hope. “On the other it says:“ God's blessing over mountains and valleys, let it grow where we build and live ”, a psalm stanza from the Northern Norwegian Christmas hymn book by Trygve Hoff . The bells were cast by Olsen Nauen Klokkestøperi AS from Tønsberg , they are a donation from the Northern Norwegian bank Sparebank1 Nord-Norge .
The altar is also made of concrete, it was refined with marble stucco and takes up the golden mosaics in the border decoration.
Coordinates: 69 ° 57 ′ 55.9 ″ N , 23 ° 15 ′ 56.9 ″ E
Web links
Church Official Website (Norwegian)