St. Olav's Cathedral, Oslo

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Olav (Norwegian St. Olav's Domkirke ) is Episcopal Church and seat of the Diocese of Oslo, situated in the Norwegian capital Oslo.

Building

The church is located outside the city center at Redeemer Cemetery ( Vår Frelser kirkegård ). The construction was financed almost exclusively by donations. The largest single donation came from the Catholic Queen Josephine. Some of today's pieces of equipment such as the altarpiece comes from their private property. The architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer was the builder of the neo-Gothic church, in 1852, the foundation stone was laid. The church was opened to the public in 1856, but remained unconsecrated until 1896, since there were no Catholic bishops in Norway. Only with the establishment of the Diocese of Oslo in 1953, the church was elevated to the status of a cathedral. It is the second Catholic cathedral in Oslo, the first ( St. Hallvard ) was a Romanesque church from the 12th century. In the meantime, she was Protestant, but had to be abandoned after a fire in 1667. The remains were used as building material for the Akershus Fortress.

Equipment

St. Olav is the religious center for the approximately 200,000 people living in Norway Catholics. The tabernacle Italian marble is a gift from Pope Pius IX. In the St. Olav's Church is the only relic of King Olav, the patron saint of Norway. The last major renovation in 1975 / 76th

The organ was built in 1970 by organ builder JH Jørgensen. The instrument has 20 stops on two manuals and pedal. The tracker action are mechanical.