St. Mary's Church, Bergen

Saint Mary's church is a "long" style church of grey stone built around 1135. The architect is unknown but he would have been pleased to know his structure has withstood time and fortune so well. The church is used today and it seats about 240 people. It is definitely the oldest building in the City of Bergen.

Saint Mary's is only survivor of the 12 churches and three monasteries that were built during the ring of Olav Kyrre (1066-1093). The church was probably built by craftsmen from Scania, in Denmark. The sryle of the church resembles that of Lund Cathedral in Scania.

The church was intended for the Norwegian people of Bergen, but it was taken over by the German population the town in 1408. It was locally named the "German" church and it served mainly the rich Hanseatic merchants. While it belonged to the Germans, Saint Mary's prospered and did not fall into ruin like several other churches of Bergen.

In January 2010 major restoration work was undertaken. When finished the Church became associated with the Bergen Anglican denomination and began offering services in English.

The church has two towers and three naves and is mostly Romanesque in style. The choir is a bit Gothic like Haakon's Hall. The main building material is three grades of soapstone and some shale. The soapstone was likely quarried locally.