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Northern Lights Cathedral

Northern Lights Cathedral

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects & Kolbjørn Jenssen

Photo: DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Alta, Norway
Client / Owner
Church of Norway
Year
Completed 2013
Access
Public
Typology
Spiritual

The Northern Lights Cathedral, or Alta Church, is the main church of the Alta parish in Finnmark, Norway, and the seat of the deanery in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. It is a Church of Norway Evangelical Lutheran church. The design came from an architectural competition launched in 2001, won by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, with Kolbjørn Jenssen of LINK arkitektur.

The building is circular, a large spiral with a belfry. It is made of concrete and wood and clad in titanium sheets. It seats about 350 people and has interior artwork by Peter Brandes. Construction ran from 2009 to 2013, and Bishop Per Oskar Kjølaas consecrated it on February 10, 2013.

The name refers to the aurora borealis. The bishop acknowledged that cathedral technically means domkirke, but cited the informal precedents of Lofotkatedralen and Ishavskatedralen.

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