Church of St Mary

The Church of St Mary, dating from 1180, is known as the ‘German church’. The oldest parish church in the city (established for Hanseatic traders), from 1408 to 1766, it is a basilica-type slate building with two towers on the west side, a Romanesque nave and a Gothic chancel. The carved triptych on the altar was probably made in Lübeck during the fifteenth century. The Baroque pulpit, with a depiction of Christian virtues, was funded by Hanseatic traders and probably made by Dutch artists from exotic materials (e.g. tortoiseshell). It has one of the first stained-glass windows in Norway, on the north side (1336).