If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 660

 

 

 

 

 

Skiens Kirke, Norway, 1933

 

On the front bottom margin of this used Eneret:J.H.Koenholdt postcard is:  3655 Skiens Kirke [Skien’s Church] together with the postcard photographer-printer’s name.  The black & white picture is of the red brick parish church located in the town of Skien, Norway.  The card was sent to Petra Lee as a Christmas and New Year greeting from I.C. Lee’s sister, Ingeborg Hvalen, postmarked 30 December 1933.

 

This church was built in 1894 and is shaped like a Latin cross with two towers.  It is 154 ft or 47 m long with the towers 223 ft or 68 m high.  Located on a ridge overlooking the harbor it is impressive.  One of Norway’s largest organs with 5000 pipes is found here.  The primary artistic decorations are in the form of stained-glass windows and painted ornamentation on the walls and ceilings.

 

There was an earlier church here that was partly destroyed by fire in 1777 and restored.  Another fire in 1886 burned the church again and this time it was not salvageable.  Only the baptismal font, the holy vessels, two gilded wooden figures and the altar piece could be saved.  An interim church was erected and used between 1886 and 1894 when the red brick church was finally completed.  The interim church was later converted to a school building, then demolished in 2011.  There have been several maintenance repairs since this church was built, the most recent one involved replacing the brick façade in 2004.

 

 

 

The stamps are ones often seen on letters and cards from the 1930s.  The cancellation mark was clearer than some others, making it easy to date the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/Skien_Church