Government announces strategy for securing Norwegian churches
The Government is working on a strategy for protecting churches
in Norway that are not well protected against fire.
In the 2019 budget, the government set aside NOK 10 million for
protection of churches and NOK 10 million for the preservation
of stone churches.
“It was a wake-up call to see Notre-Dame burn. Church buildings are
culture, history and part of our identity. We need to do more to
prevent similar things from happening in Norway,” said Minister
of Religious and Life Sciences, Kjell Ingolf Ropstad of Kristelig
Folkeparti (KrF) in a message to NTB news.
At Granavolden, KrF received a breakthrough for the development
of a strategy for ensuring that all protected churches can maintain
a satisfactory level of maintenance.
“There is a formidable need for maintenance and securing in Norway.
Now I want to speed up my efforts to prepare the Government’s
strategy for protected churches,” Ropstad states.
80% of Norwegian, medieval, stone churches do not have automatic
fire extinguishing systems, and 16% lack automatic fire warnings.
Many of the older church buildings are very vulnerable to fire due to dry wood construction, large attics and towers that provide a rapid spread of fire. In addition, there are many situated far from fire departments.
It is the municipalities that have the financial responsibility for the
construction, operation, and maintenance of churches in Norway.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
