St. Clement's Church Ruins

Oslo, Norway

St. Clement's Church or Klemet's Church was one of the Roman Catholic parish churches of the old Oslo. It was a stone church with a tower, and it was one of the very few churches we know with the double-nave floor plan. Along the middle axis of the choir there were three powerful pillars that held the roof. The church went out of use after the Protestant Reformation, and expect it rather quickly was in ruins.

The church was exposed and examined through excavation by arcitect Johan Adolf Gerhard Fischer in 1921. Then remained for years unnoticed during Loeng bridge. In 1970-71 was archaeologist Ole Egil Eide opportunity to dig further into the ground under the church, and found traces of burials older than the stone church, 81 in all. His interpretation is that there have been at least two churches, presumably stave churches, on the spot where the stone church was built around 1100. The oldest of the graves are dated to the radiological 980-1030, and were some of the oldest Christian burials found in Norway. Ruins of Clement's Church is now exposed and is included as part of Middelalderparken in the Old Town of Oslo.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Saxegaardsgata 11, Oslo, Norway
See all sites in Oslo

Details

Founded: c. 1100
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Norway

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Cille Andrea Nedal (4 years ago)
Nice park and well-kept ruins, but it would have been fun with even more info, posters etc. in the area. Lots of exciting history!
Filip Rippis (5 years ago)
What the check is this plays
Sverre Sævareid (5 years ago)
Little to gain from this. Much is said
Con Pow (5 years ago)
Lovely and interesting.
Jon Sagberg (5 years ago)
This is a really nice park when it is sunny.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Jan Hus Memorial

The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.

Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.