St Mary's Church, Bergen

St. Mary's Church
Mariakirken
View of the church (before 2013 renovations)
St. Mary's Church Location in Hordaland county Show map of Hordaland St. Mary's Church Location in Hordaland county Show map of Norway
60°23′56″N 5°19′24″E / 60.39894°N 5.32347°E / 60.39894; 5.32347Coordinates: 60°23′56″N 5°19′24″E / 60.39894°N 5.32347°E / 60.39894; 5.32347
Location	Bergen, Hordaland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Style	Romanesque and Gothic
Completed	1130-1183
Specifications
Capacity	330
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Bergen domkirke
Deanery	Bergen domprosti
Diocese	Diocese of Bjørgvin

St Mary's Church (Norwegian: Mariakirken) is a parish church in Bergen municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the Bryggen area in the central part 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 construction of the church is believed to have started in the 1130s or 1140s and completed around 1180, making this church the oldest remaining building in the whole city of Bergen. There have been a few fires that burned the church, as well as several renovations and reconstructions, most recently in 2013.

St. Mary's Church is the only remaining of the twelve churches and three monasteries that were built in Bergen between its beginnings during the reign of Olav Kyrre (1066–1093, traditionally 1070) and the end of the twelfth century. Excavations have revealed the remains of an earlier stone church on the site, but it was probably never completed. Commissioned jointly by the king and the citizens and merchants of Bergen, the construction of St. Mary's Church began in the 1130s or 1140s. The exact year of completion is unknown, but the church is mentioned in Sverris saga as where the rebels of the Birkebein Party sought refuge when attacked by a peasant army in 1183. St. Mary's Church is likely to have been built by craftsmen from Scania, then part of Denmark. The church's style is reminiscent of that of Lund Cathedral in Scania.

St. Mary's Church was significantly damaged in the town fire of 1198, caused by an attack on the city by the Bagli Party, enemies of the Birkebein Party. The rebuilding resulted in several architectural changes. Bergen burned again in 1248, in a fire which caused an even greater degree of destruction to the church than the earlier fire. As part of the reconstruction after this fire, the towers were heightened and the chancel lengthened. The church was damaged in several later town fires, but never again destroyed to the same degree as in the fire of 1248.