Nykirken

Nykirken
"New Church"
View of the church
Nykirken Location in Hordaland county Show map of Hordaland Nykirken Location in Hordaland county Show map of Norway
60°23′50″N 5°18′48″E / 60.3971°N 5.3134°E / 60.3971; 5.3134Coordinates: 60°23′50″N 5°18′48″E / 60.3971°N 5.3134°E / 60.3971; 5.3134
Location	Bergen, Hordaland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Founded	1622
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Johan Joachim Reichborn
Completed	1763
Specifications
Capacity	750
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Bergen domkirke
Deanery	Bergen domprosti
Diocese	Diocese of Bjørgvin

Nykirken (literally: "The new church") 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 (probably) 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".

The church was originally built in 1621 on the site of the ruins of the home of the archbishop, a stone building that was built in the 14th century, and was destroyed by fire. The original church building only stood for two years before it burned down in 1623. It was immediately rebuilt. In 1660, the second church building was destroyed by fire and again rebuilt in 1670. Another fires happened in 1756. The church was replaced in 1974 by the current church building. There was another smaller fire in 1800, followed by a restoration of the building.