Strinda Church

Strinda Church (Strinda kirke) is a white wooden parish church in Trondheim, in Trøndelag county, Norway. Consecrated in 1900, it stands in the Strinda area on the eastern side of the city and is also known locally as Moholt Church. It belongs to the Church of Norway and serves the Strinda parish.

What is Strinda Church?

It is a parish church of the Church of Norway, part of the Strinda deanery (prosti) in the Diocese of Nidaros. Nidaros is the diocese centred on Trondheim, the historic heart of Norwegian church life. The building is a working church, so visits depend on services and events held there.

What does the building look like?

The church is made of wood and painted white. It follows a cruciform plan, meaning the nave and transepts form the shape of a cross. The style is Neo-Gothic, a late nineteenth-century fashion that borrowed pointed forms from medieval church architecture and applied them, here, to a timber structure. The plans were drawn by the architects Lars Solberg and Johan Christensen. The carpenter O. A. Henriksen built the church, and the city archive records the cost as 33,500 kroner.

How did the church come to be built?

Planning took a long time, and several sites were considered. The final choice was between the Ormhaugen site and land at Moholt Vestre. The decision was settled by the member of parliament Paul Fjermstad, and the church was built at Moholt Vestre. It was consecrated on 18 October 1900.

What role did it play in Strinda?

After the consecration, Strinda Church became the main church of Strinda. It took over that position from Lade Church, which had been the main church there since the Middle Ages. For a district that was growing alongside Trondheim, the new church marked a shift in where parish life was centred.

What is its later history?

In 1935 the church was painted black. The change was poorly received, and shortly after the Second World War the building was painted white again. Norwegian sources list restoration work in 1935, 1952, 1999–2000 and 2011–12. The church is on the Norwegian list of protected buildings, in the category for buildings from after 1850.

How many people does it hold?

Sources give different figures. English Wikipedia says about 300 seats, while the Norwegian encyclopedia and the city archive give 500. The opening report from 1900 counted 800 places including the gallery.

Frequently asked questions

When was Strinda Church built? It was built around 1900 and consecrated on 18 October 1900.

Who designed it? The architects Lars Solberg and Johan Christensen.

Why is it called Moholt Church? It stands on the Moholt Vestre site, and the name is used alongside Strinda Church.

What colour is it? White. It was painted black in 1935 and returned to white soon after the Second World War.

Which parish does it serve? The Strinda parish, in the Diocese of Nidaros.