Nykirken

Historie

Nykirken is a parish church in Bergen municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the Nordnes area of the city of Bergen. The church is part of the "Bergen domkirke" parish in the Bergen arch-deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.The large, white, stone, cruciform church is located at the "Nykirkeallmenningen" square between the Strandgaten road and Vågen bay. Although it is generally known as the Nykirken, it was consecrated in 1622 by Bishop Nils Paaske as "Holy Trinity Church". When the church was originally built in 1622, there were several other churches in Bergen that were already several hundred years old, so this church was nicknamed "the new church", a name which has stuck for centuries. It is also an appropriate nickname, since the churches on this site have burned down several times and then been rebuilt, so it literally is usually the "newest" church in the central city. The current building dates back to 1764 when it was completely rebuilt and redesigned after a major fire. It has been significantly rebuilt several times since then, too, following various fires.The church was a parish church for the Nykirken parish in central Bergen from 1622 until 2002. In 2002, several urban parishes in central Bergen were merged to form the "Bergen domkirke" parish. The Nykirken is still in regular use, but it has been given a special emphasis as a "children's church", putting a special emphasis on children and their families. Since 2002, the parish has started calling the church the "Children's Cathedral".