Fana Church is located in Fanahammeren

Fanahammeren

Fanahammeren is a residential area in Bergen, Norway. Located several kilometers south of the main body of the city, Statistics Norway considers it a separate urban area. On January 1, 2008, Fanahammeren had a population of 3647 and a population density of 1317 per square kilometre. The urban area...

 in the borough of Fana

Fana

Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen, Norway.-History:Prior to 1972, Fana was an independent municipality which territory also included today's boroughs of Ytrebygda, Fyllingsdalen, and the southernmost part of Årstad.-Geography:...

 in Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The existing stone building celebrated 850 years anniversary in 2003, but the church building history is long and complicated. Historians assert that the church has been rebuilt and enlarged several times.

Fana Church was mentioned in writings for the first time in 1228, when Pope Gregory IX

Pope Gregory IX

Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...

 released a conscription to the vicar and brothers at "the holy cross church and hospital in Fana". In the letter, it is mentioned that the bishops in Bergen had let the church be founded again: "de novo fundari". Parts of the existing church building are from the Romance époque, and the walls show signs of there having been a stone building at the site, most likely a church, before 1220. Due to this, it is believed that the core of the church was built in the second half of the 12th century.

Legend

The legend "The Holy Silver Cross" is connected to Fana church. In 1626, when the king gave professor Worm at Copenhagen University commission to register all historical objects and occurrences in Bjørgvin bishopric, Skonvig, the son of a priest, sent a letter about the legend.

Two fishermen found a silver cross at Korsnes in Korsfjorden, and they tried to get the cross on land near Milde. However, the cross was too heavy to carry, so they knew the cross was meant for Fana. When they arrived at Fanahammeren, the cross was easy to carry. They brought it to the church where it was settled at the altar.

One of the fishermen was blind, but when he touched the cross and scratched his eyes he gained sight again. The story about the healing cross reached many, and pilgrims visited the church hoping to be healed. It is said that at a small knoll close to the church there was a lot of crutches and canes that pilgrims had left behind after having been healed at the cross. According to the legend, the priest in Fana burned 6 horse loads of crutches in 1546.

History

The window painting telling the history of the church
The latest rebuilding of magnitude was done as late as in 1927-28, when the window was changed. Bernhard Greve's window paintings illustrate the history of the church.

• 1228: Fana Church is built after the christening of Norway by Saint Olaf.
• 1228: Conscription from Pope Gregory IX, the legend of The Holy Silver Cross.
• 1537: The silver cross, other treasures and lead row are removed.
• 1644: The church burns after having been struck by lightning.
• 1928– The church is re-consecrated after having been rebuilt.

Ownership

Since Fana church was rather big compared to other rural churches, some believe that the church was a county church in its early years. It is believed that the hospital next to the church was shut down around 1300.

In 1303, Fana church was one of 14 royal chapels after having been transferred from Bishop in Bergen to the Apostle church in Bergen. Fana church is one of only 3 remaining royal chapels. In 1723, the royal deed was sold to two men from the parish, Nils Olson Austevoll and Vinsens Nilsson Nedre Titlestad. The church was privately held until 1862, when the parish bought it. The parish decided to rebuild the church in 1870-71. Major changes were done, but after some years it became apparent that rebuilding had been a mistake. In 1920, the architect Fredrik Konow Lund was hired, who tried giving the church the Medieval appearance it once had.