Årstad Church


Årstad Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Årstad neighborhood in the city of Bergen. It is the church for the Årstad parish which is part of the Bergensdalen prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The large, stone church was built in a cruciform design and a Neo-Gothic style in 1890 using designs by the architect Christian Christie. The church seats about 560 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of Årstad church date back to the year 1564, but it was built before that time. Originally, the stone church was located about north of the present church site and it was part of the Fana Church parish. The church was called the Church of the Holy Cross at that time. In the 1600s, the old church was taken out of regular use due to its age and size and the residents of Årstad were sent to the nearby Birkeland Church. The old stone church burned down and was mostly destroyed in the city fire of 1702. It sat unused as a ruin for a long time, and the ruins of the foundation were still visible in 1902. The last remains of the foundation were dug out and removed in 1910.
After a long time without a church, a new church was built to replace the old church in 1890. The new church was located about south of the old church site. The new church was consecrated on 26 November 1890.

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