Bodø Cathedral


Bodø Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of Norway in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Bodø. It is the church for the Bodø domkirke parish which is also the seat of the Bodø domprosti and the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The concrete church was built in a long church basilica style in 1956 by the architects Gudolf Blakstad and Herman Munthe-Kaas. The church seats about 850 people.

History

The old church in Bodø was built in 1888 and destroyed on 27 May 1940 when the whole city center of Bodø was bombed during World War II. In 1946, an architectural competition was held for the design of a new church, which was won by the architects Gudolf Blakstad and Herman Munthe-Kaas. The foundation stone was laid in 1954, and the new church which was consecrated by Bishop Wollert Krohn-Hansen in 1956. By the time it was completed, it had become the cathedral for the new Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland, established in 1952.
Bodø Cathedral is built of concrete and has a basilica design. The church has an external sculpture depicting Petter Dass made by Kristoffer Leirdal. The sanctuary seats about 890 people. Over the altar in the east wall there is a high stained-glass window designed by Åge Storstein and constructed by Borgar Hauglid. The church has a tall free-standing clock tower that contains three bells. There is also a memorial to those who died from Bodø during the World War II. The inscription reads «Til de fra Bodø som gav sitt liv for Norge under krig og okkupasjon 1940-1945. Ingen nevnt, ingen glemt» which means "To those from Bodø who gave their lives for Norway during the war and occupation 1940-1945. Not named, not forgotten."

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