Bergen Cathedral, Bergen domkirke, is a stone church dedicated to Saint Olaf in the centre of Bergen, first recorded in 1181 and the seat of the Bishop of Bjørgvin since the Reformation. It has burned and been rebuilt many times, so Gothic walls, a 17th-century tower and a 19th-century interior sit side by side. The detail everyone looks for is a cannonball stuck in the west wall since a sea battle in 1665.
Bergen Cathedral at a glance
- Where: at Kong Oscars gate in central Bergen, a few minutes uphill from the harbour and the Fish Market.
- Built: first mentioned in 1181; rebuilt after fires in 1248, 1270 and 1463, and given its present form after the fires of 1623 and 1640.
- What it is today: the cathedral of the Diocese of Bjørgvin in the Church of Norway, with seats for about 600 people and regular organ concerts.
- Time needed: 20–30 minutes, including a walk round the outside to find the cannonball.
From friars' church to cathedral
The first stone church here, dedicated to Olaf the Holy, existed by the 12th century. It appears in Sverris saga in 1181, when some of King Sverre's men fled into it during an attack on the town. In the 13th century the church was given to Franciscan friars, who built a friary next to it. After fires in 1248 and 1270, King Magnus the Lawmender paid for a larger church, consecrated in 1301, and the king himself is buried in the choir.
More fires followed, and in 1537, after the Lutheran Reformation, the church was chosen as the new cathedral, replacing the old one at Holmen that had been demolished. Bergen's first Protestant bishop, Gjeble Pederssøn, had it completed before his death in 1557. After fires in 1623 and 1640 the cathedral got its present shape, including the square west tower. In 1814 it was one of the churches where Norwegians voted for the assembly that wrote their constitution. In the 1880s the architects Christian Christie and Peter Andreas Blix removed the rococo interior and gave the church a medieval look again.
What to look for
- The cannonball lodged in the west wall of the tower, a souvenir of the 1665 battle in Bergen harbour between English and Dutch fleets.
- The Gothic stonework in the entrance hall, possibly by masons who also worked on parts of the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey.
- The epitaph of 1652 above the main door, showing the Transfiguration of Christ.
- The plaque in the choir for King Magnus the Lawmender, who is buried there, and the stained glass windows from the 1880s, two of them showing Saint Olaf.
- The large organ by Rieger Orgelbau, installed in 1997, the fifth organ in the cathedral's history.
The Battle of Vågen
In August 1665, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, an English squadron attacked a Dutch merchant fleet that had taken shelter in Vågen, Bergen's harbour. The Danish-Norwegian guns on shore joined in on the Dutch side, and the English were beaten off. One of the cannonballs fired that day ended up in the wall of the cathedral and has been left there ever since, a small dark sphere set in the stone.
Tips for your visit
- Look for the cannonball on the west front before you go in; it is easy to walk past.
- Check the cathedral's programme for organ concerts; the Rieger organ is one of the best ways to experience the space.
- This is a working church: be quiet inside and avoid visiting during services.
- Walk round the churchyard to find the memorial to the poets Dorothea Engelbrektsdatter and Petter Dass on the south side.
Nearby
- Fløibanen: the funicular to the top of Mount Fløyen, whose lower station is a few minutes from the cathedral.
- Bryggen: the row of old wooden Hanseatic wharf houses on the harbour, about ten minutes' walk away.
- Fish Market: the harbour-side market at the head of Vågen, a short walk downhill.
- Torgallmenningen and the Sailors' Monument: the main square with its monument to Bergen's seafarers, a few minutes south-west.
See Bergen with World City Trail
Our Bergen scavenger hunt turns the city centre into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 1.5 hours, with about 37 minutes of walking. Bergen Cathedral is one of the stops, along with Den Nationale Scene and the Sailors' Monument.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Bergen.
Play the Bergen scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Bergen →
Play the outdoor escape game in Bergen →
Facts checked in October 2026.