"St. Olaf's Cathedral, Bergen (Norwegian: Bergen domkirke), is a Lutheran cathedral dedicated to Saint Olaf in the city of Bergen , in the province of Hordaland , Norway . It is the seat of the Diocese of Bjørgvin .
Its construction dates back to around 1150. It is a soapstone church with a side nave and vestry . It is 60.5 m long and 20.5 m wide. The tower is 13 m wide, and the choir 13.5 m wide. There are remains of the foundations of two older churches. The first mention is as Olavkirke i Vågsbunnen ( St. Olaf's Church at Vågen Bay ).
During the reign of Haakon IV, a Franciscan monastery was built south of the church, and the church became part of it. In 1248 and 1270, the church burned down and fell into disuse. It was brought back into use in 1301 when Magnus VI financed the reconstruction of the building. Magnus himself was buried in the church.
Interior of the cathedral.
It burned again between 1463 and 1464 and was in a ruined state when it was designated Bergen's new cathedral in 1537, after the old cathedral had been demolished in 1531. Bishop Gjeble Pederson was responsible for rebuilding the new tower and repairing the damage until his death in 1557. This tower stood over the center of the nave and was replaced in the 1640s by a new one at the west end of the church, which still stands today. A further extensive restoration was undertaken after the city fire of 1702, and it was again used for liturgical purposes in 1743.
The most significant reconstruction was perhaps that of 1880-1883, carried out by the architects Christian Christie and Peter Blix : the aisle was demolished and rebuilt from the ground up, with four Gothic columns . One of the aims was to give the cathedral an appearance more reminiscent of its medieval origins, and the Rococo decoration of the interior was therefore removed . It was also provided with a new soapstone altar.
The cathedral remains as a testament to the Battle of Vågen between English and Dutch ships in 1665, and bears the mark of a cannonball."
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