Stavanger Cathedral – A unique national religious monument

With the publication of Inge Bruland`s book «The Stavanger Cathedral», the Stavanger Chamber of Commerce celebrates the transition to the Year 2000 and Stavanger`s 875th anniversary.
The construction of the Stavanger Cathedral marks the founding of the Stavanger bishopric. For want of more accurate historical and archaeological sources the researchers have decied to date the founding of Stavanger to year 1125, even if more recent findings might indicate that the town was founded aroun the year 1000.
Inge Bruland invites us on a journey of discovery in and around the Stavanger Cathedral.
The story about life in the Cathedral becomes the story of Stavanger and Rogaland. The issues go right to the very heart og Norwegian history: How the Vikings encountered Christianity, south-west Norway`s close ties with England, Romanesque and Gothic ecclesiastical art, woodcarvers and stained- glass journeymen – and most importantly: the inner life of the cathedral seen in the changing interpretations of the Christian message through the centuries.
Unlike the cathedrals of Trondheim, Bergen, Hamar and Oslo, Stavanger Cathedral is the only one of our medieval cathedrals to have been in continuous use for almost 900 years. People in the Stavanger region that find it difficult to understand, that national authorities have as yet been unable to allocate public funds for its upkeep. The Stavanger Chamber of Commerce hopes that Inge Bruland`s magnificent book will open the eys of the proper authorities and make them aware of their responsibilities.