Church of St John

Nina Hagerup and Edvard Grieg were married in this church, on 11 June 1867, in the presence of a handful of friends, practically against the will of their parents. The composer’s father considered that Edvard, as an artist, would not be able to fend for his family, whilst Nina’s energetic mother thought that Edvard was a nobody and that his music was unbearable. After their wedding, in the summer of 1867, the couple travelled to Christiania/Oslo. The composer conceived of the idealistic intention to support the creation of a professional music stage in the Norwegian capital. Without a government subsidy, the idea proved a pipe dream, and Grieg had to roll up his sleeves and give lessons in order to earn a living, with little time left for cultivating his art. To begin with, however, his family life flourished. On 10 April 1868, his daughter, Alexandra, was born, and then his relations with his parents in Bergen became normalised. Unfortunately, the joy lasted just thirteen months. On 21 May 1869, Alexandra died in Landås from meningitis.