Stavanger Cathedral

Stavanger Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Swithun
Stavanger domkirke
View of the Cathedral
Stavanger Cathedral Location in Rogaland county Show map of Rogaland Stavanger Cathedral Location in Rogaland county Show map of Norway
58°58′11″N 5°43′59″E / 58.969787°N 5.733162°E / 58.969787; 5.733162Coordinates: 58°58′11″N 5°43′59″E / 58.969787°N 5.733162°E / 58.969787; 5.733162
Location	Stavanger, Rogaland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Website	stavangerdomkirke.no
History
Founded	c. 1125
Founder(s)	Bishop Reinald
Dedication	Saint Swithun
Architecture
Status	Cathedral
Functional status	Active
Style	Romanesque/Gothic
Completed	c. 1150
Specifications
Capacity	800
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Stavanger
Deanery	Stavanger domprosti
Diocese	Diocese of Stavanger
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Erling Johan Pettersen

Stavanger Cathedral (Norwegian: Stavanger domkirke) is Norway's oldest cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Stavanger who leads the Diocese of Stavanger. It is located in the city of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. The church is situated in the centre of the city, in the borough of Storhaug. The church is part of the "Stavanger domkirke" parish in the Stavanger arch-deanery in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Bishop Reinald, who may have come from Winchester, is said to have started construction of the Cathedral around 1100. It was finished around 1150, and the city of Stavanger counts 1125 as its year of foundation. The Cathedral was consecrated to Swithin as its patron saint. Saint Swithun was an early Bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. The church was initially the seat of the Ancient Diocese of Stavanger, a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church until the Protestant Reformation.

Stavanger was ravaged by fire in 1272, and the Cathedral suffered heavy damage. It was rebuilt under bishop Arne, and the Romanesque Cathedral was enlarged in the Gothic style.