Mariakirken

Mariakirken (St Mary's Church) is Bergen's oldest parish church and its oldest preserved building, built between roughly 1130 and 1170 in a style showing influences from Northern Italy and England. Standing just behind Bryggen, the church survived two major fires (1198 and 1248) and has remained in continuous use since the late Middle Ages. It served as the city's main church for ordinary citizens during the High Middle Ages, then as the church of Bergen's German Hanseatic merchants from 1408 until 1874, when it became an ordinary parish church. A restoration in the 1860s returned much of its medieval appearance, and a comprehensive rehabilitation was completed in summer 2015.The interior holds a gilt altarpiece, a Baroque pulpit, church art from several periods, and a notable organ. Alongside regular church services (including Sunday evening mass and an English-language Anglican service), Mariakirken is a well-regarded concert venue, especially for classical and chamber music – its stone nave offers very good acoustics for strings and an intimate setting with close contact between musicians and audience.