Østre Aker kirke

Østre Aker kirke stands in Ulven, northeastern Oslo, where red brick, pointed arches, and tall narrow windows mark its neo-Gothic design. Wood-lined walls give the interior a warmer character. Built in 1860 by brothers Carl, Ferdinand, and Albert Unger, it closely follows Heinrich Ernst Schirmer’s drawings for Vestre Aker Church.

Eight monolithic columns of local grefsensyenite support the vaulted ceiling, while a rose window shows Jesus blessing children above the altar. An original sandstone baptismal font remains beside the later wooden altarpiece. Thorleif Sohlberg carved that altarpiece in 1928, and the earlier Samaritan scene now hangs on the north wall. Electricity arrived in 1925, chandeliers followed in 1928, and a chapel extended the building in 1958.

Outside, a large cemetery and mature trees create a green triangle amid Oslo’s roads and buildings. Maria Vigeland’s 1970 sculpture Hvilende kvinne stands before the entrance. Three bells carry biblical and poetic inscriptions, while the acoustics suit choir and organ music along Oslo’s pilgrimage route.