The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø

Its official name is Tromsdalen kirke, and it is also called Ishavskatedralen, the Arctic Cathedral. Work started in 1964, and the church was consecrated on 19 November 1965. The architect was Jan Inge Hovig. It is a working church with about 650 seats, and because it is visible from far away it also serves as a landmark for ships.

A church made of eleven panels

The building consists of eleven aluminium-clad concrete panels set against each other to form a triangle. The nickname comes from these panels: they can be read as abstract ice floes. On the west side, the gable is 35 metres high and filled by a large cross in front of the glass wall.

The glass mosaic on the east side was added in 1972. It is one of the most prominent works by the artist Victor Sparre. The organ is newer. Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri built it in 2005, with three manuals and pedal, 42 stops and 2,940 pipes.

Winter shows the building from another side. Store norske leksikon notes that in the dark period the light from inside the church shines out into the day.

Opening hours

The church publishes general opening hours by year. For 2026 they are 10:00–17:00 every day, with a break between 13:00 and 14:00 on Wednesdays, and 13:00–17:00 on Sundays. The same pattern applied from 1 January to 30 May 2026. The hours for 2027 had not been published when we checked in October 2026, so look at the official site before a visit in the new year.

Between about 27 November and 15 January the sun does not rise in Tromsø, and on the shortest day civil twilight lasts from 09:31 to 13:53. If you want to see the outside of the church in daylight, go in the late morning; if you want to see the light shining out through the glass, go towards closing time at 17:00, which from November to January lies outside the hours of sunlight.

The church closes to tourists during funerals and weddings. Drones are not allowed anywhere at the Arctic Cathedral.

Getting there

The Arctic Cathedral is at Hans Nilsens vei 41 in Tromsdalen, directly across the Tromsø Bridge from the centre. The church itself recommends the walk: about 20 minutes over the bridge. The Tromsø Bridge is closed to car traffic until November 2026, but you can still cross it on foot.

By bus, routes 24 and 26 go from the centre to the stop “Tromsdalen kirke”. Buses in Tromsø are cashless. During the bridge closure, Visit Tromsø says scheduled buses cross the bridge between 07:00 and 17:00 and use the Tromsøysund Tunnel in the evening and at night, when routes 20 and 24 do not stop at Tromsdalen kirke; routes 26 and 28 can be used instead. Check the timetable for the day you travel.

From the church it is about another 15 minutes on foot to the lower station of the Fjellheisen cable car, so the two are easy to combine.

Concerts in winter

The church publishes its concerts in an events calendar. In October and November, “Aurora Tunes” brings a half-hour organ concert at 17:30 on almost every Friday; dates in 2026 include 16 and 30 October and 6, 13, 20 and 27 November. December belongs to Christmas music, with concerts such as the Christmas concert with Aurora Borealis and Lisa Stokke on 5 December and “Julefred” from 20 to 22 December. The New Year’s concert starts at 21:00 on 31 December.

From January to March 2026 the church ran a series of half-hour organ concerts called “Returning Light”, also at 17:30. Dates for 2027 had not been published when we checked, so treat that series as an example of what to expect. The current programme is on the church’s events page.

Not to be confused with Tromsø Cathedral

Tromsø has a second cathedral, and the names are easy to mix up. Tromsø domkirke in Kirkegata 7, in the middle of the city, is a neo-Gothic wooden church completed in 1861 and the only cathedral of the Church of Norway built of wood. The late-evening concert at 23:00 in our list takes place there, not in the Arctic Cathedral. Both are worth a visit; our page on sights and museums has more on the churches in the centre.