St Olaf's Church, Bergen

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Bergen Cathedral a cathedral in Bergen municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the city of Bergen. The church is the seat of the "Bergen domkirke" parish and the seat of the Bergen arch-deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. It is part of the Church of Norway. The first recorded historical reference to this church is dated 1181. It retains its ancient dedication to Saint Olaf. The cathedral seats about 1000 people.HistoryDuring the reign of king Haakon IV of Norway, a Franciscan friary was established near the church, then known as Olavskirken, or the church of Saint Olaf, which was incorporated in it. The church burned down in 1248 and again in 1270, but was reconstructed after both fires. In 1463, it burned down again, but this time it was not reconstructed until the 1550s, despite being declared a cathedral in 1537.After the fires of 1623 and 1640, Bergen Cathedral received its current general appearance. The steeple on the nave was torn down, and the current tower was built. During the renovation in the 1880s, under the direction of architects Christian Christie and Peter Andreas Blix, the Rococo interior was replaced to give the interiors back their former medieval appearance.