Fana Church

Fana Church
Fana kirke

View of the church
Fana Church
Location in Hordaland county
60°15′48″N 5°20′54″E / 60.263394°N 5.348389°E / 60.263394; 5.348389Coordinates: 60°15′48″N 5°20′54″E / 60.263394°N 5.348389°E / 60.263394; 5.348389
Location Bergen, Hordaland
Country Norway
Denomination Church of Norway
Churchmanship Evangelical Lutheran
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Completed 1153
Specifications
Capacity 450
Materials Stone
Administration
Parish Fana
Deanery Fana prosti
Diocese Diocese of Bjørgvin

Fana Church is a parish church in Bergen municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in Fanahammeren, a village in the borough of Fana in the city of Bergen. The church is part of the Fana parish in the Fana deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The existing stone building celebrated its 850-year anniversary in 2003, but the church building history is long and complicated. Historians assert that the church has been rebuilt and enlarged several times.[1][2]

Fana Church was mentioned in writings for the first time in 1228, when Pope Gregory IX released a conscription to the vicar and brothers at "the holy cross church and hospital in Fana". In the letter, it is mentioned that the bishops in Bergen had let the church be founded again: "de novo fundari". Parts of the existing church building are from the Romance époque, and the walls show signs of there having been a stone building at the site, most likely a church, before 1220. Due to this, it is believed that the core of the church was built in the second half of the 12th century.[3][4][5]

Legend

Fana church at night.

The legend "The Holy Silver Cross" is connected to Fana church. In 1626, when the king gave Professor Worm at Copenhagen University commission to register all historical objects and occurrences in Bjørgvin bishopric. Skonvig, the son of a priest, sent a letter about the legend.[5]

Two fishermen found a silver cross at Korsneset, along the Korsfjorden, and they tried to get the cross on land near Milde. However, the cross was too heavy to carry, so they knew the cross was meant for Fana. When they arrived at Fanahammeren, the cross was easy to carry. They brought it to the church where it was settled at the altar.[5]

One of the fishermen was blind, but when he touched the cross and scratched his eyes he gained sight again. The story about the healing cross reached many, and pilgrims visited the church hoping to be healed. It is said that at a small knoll close to the church there was a lot of crutches and canes that pilgrims had left behind after having been healed at the cross. According to the legend, the priest in Fana burned six horse-loads of crutches in 1546.[5]

History

The window painting telling the history of the church. The latest rebuilding of any magnitude was done as late as in 1927-28, when the window was changed. Bernhard Greve's window paintings illustrate the history of the church.[4]

Ownership

Since Fana Church was rather big compared to other rural churches, some believe that the church was a county church in its early years. It is believed that the hospital next to the church was shut down around 1300.[4]

In 1303, Fana Church was one of 14 royal chapels after having been transferred from Bishop in Bergen to the Apostle Church in Bergen. Fana Church is one of only 3 remaining royal chapels. In 1723, the royal deed was sold to two men from the parish, Nils Olson Austevoll and Vinsens Nilsson Nedre Titlestad. The church was privately held until 1862, when the parish bought it. The parish decided to rebuild the church in 1870-71. Major changes were done, but after some years it became apparent that rebuilding had been a mistake. In 1920, the architect Fredrik Konow Lund was hired, who tried giving the church the Medieval appearance it once had.[3][4][5]

Media gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fana kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  2. ↑ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  3. 1 2 "Fana kyrkje" (in Norwegian). DIS-Hordaland. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Fana kirke" (in Norwegian). Norges Kirker. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fana kirke" (in Norwegian). Bergen Byarkiv. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
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