Mandal Church

Historie

Mandal Church is the main parish church for Mandal municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the town of Mandal. The church is part of the Mandal parish and the seat of the Mandal deanery in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built after the town was destroyed by fire in 1810 and was officially opened in 1821, although it had been in use since 1819.The architect was Jørgen Gerhard Løser who used engravings from 1728 by James Gibbs as inspiration. It was the first monumental building built in Norway after the Norway's independence from Denmark in 1814. The style is empire/neoclassical. With 1,800 seats, it is the largest wooden church in Norway.The painting Oppstandelsen is in the church and it was painted by Adolph Tidemand who grew up in Mandal. The church has not undergone major changes since it was opened, but a major restoration project on the building was begun to remove extensive dry rot and make many structural repairs. The repairs are estimated to cost about.