The Arctic Cathedral (Norwegian Ishavskatedralen) is actually called the Church of the Troms Valley (Norwegian Tromsdalen kirke), because it is located on the Norwegian mainland and not on the island of Tromsøya like the center of Tromsø; nevertheless, the title is correct, because Tromsdalen is a suburb that belongs to Tromsø. The Arctic Cathedral is an Evangelical Lutheran parish and sailor's church and a landmark of the city of Tromsø [1], although the term cathedral is not entirely correct, because it is not a bishop's church. But I am convinced that this does not bother either the faithful or the tourists. But here I have to let the cat out of the bag: the cathedral is a tourist attraction and therefore hopelessly overcrowded. The Hurtigruten offer midnight concerts for their travelers on their southbound journeys [2].
The church was built according to plans by architect Jan Inge Hovig [3] and consecrated in December 1965. The name Arctic Cathedral comes from resembling slanted ice floes. The church is oriented eastwards, meaning that the choir side of the church faces east. And there, according to Jan Inge Hovig's plans, was the window made of simple glass, which covered an area of 140 m². The idea was to flood the church with light. But that is exactly what happened, in order, so it has been reported to me, that the churchgoers brought their glacier glasses with them, otherwise they would be blinded. On June 25, 1972, a glass mosaic by Victor Sparre was created and consecrated. That was just before the Olympic Games in Munich, where Palestinians from the "Black September" group attacked the Israeli team quarters, murdered Israelis and took hostages. The window of the Arctic Cathedral is entitled "The Return of Jesus". I like the mosaic. Jan Inge Hovig, however, sulked and, according to my information, never entered the church again [4]. The mosaic shows skull, barbed wire, a clock that is at five to twelve, and other symbols of a humanity that is in the last phase of its history.
The first organ also had to be replaced because several pipes broke under their own weight. On December 17, 2005 - the 40th anniversary of the consecration of the Arctic Cathedral - the new organ by the Swedish organ builder Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri was consecrated. It has 42 registers, which are distributed over three manuals and pedal; if that seems small, then you should take a look at the picture and I will add the information that the organ has 2940 pipes [5].
Even if there are a lot of people visiting the Arctic Cathedral, it is an absolute must!
Links and Annotations:
[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eismeerkathedrale The German text is significantly more extensive than the others, including the two texts in Norwegian (Nynorsk and Bokmål). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Cathedral The English text has about the same length as the latter two, although they do not exactly match.
[2] I had just experienced storms and snowfall that paralyzed traffic for days and some ferries were ordered back. Hurtigruten is the same in English, German and Bokmål, in Nynorsk it is called Hurtigruta and it is Norwegian for "the fast route". There are now other providers on the route to the far north.
[3] Jan Inge Hovig (11 May 1920 – 4 July 1977) was a Norwegian architect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Inge_Hovig You'll find more on the architecture of the church here: https://arkitekturguide.uit.no/items/show/820
[4] It probably sounds more unforgiving than it was, because I assume that he lived in the south of Norway (e.g. Oslo). He married Ingrid Espelid Hovig, but died a week later of a heart attack. "Ingrid Espelid Hovig (3 June 1924 – 3 August 2018) was a Norwegian television chef and author of cook books." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Espelid_Hovig
[5] I would like to put the 2940 pipes of the Arctic Cathedral in context. The organ in Riga Cathedral has 6,718 pipes, while Cologne Cathedral has 11,359 in total, of which 7,274 are in the transept organ and 3,963 in the nave organ, which can be connected together. I particularly liked the organ in Riga Cathedral, which I have already reported on: https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-riga-cathedral-and-pipe-organ.html. In this context, I would like to point out again “J.S. Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565”, played by Liene Andreta Kalnciema live at Riga Cathedral. https://fb.watch/vesFmoKKeF/
[6] The steel engraving “Dr. Richardson's Boat Trip in the Polar Sea” can be found in: Die Stadt Gottes. Illustrierte Monatsschrift für das katholische Volk. Jg. XXI. Steyl Missionsdruckerei, 1898; S. 332. [The City of God. Illustrated Monthly for the Catholic People. Vol. XXI. Steyl Mission Printing Office, 1898; p. 332.]
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