Norwegian church closed because of safety concerns

The church tower is rotten, the roof tiles may fall from the roof, and the cladding is terrible, a condition report prepared after an inspection of Siggerud church shows. That is reported by Verdinytt, based on an article from Østlandets Blad. The church suspects that the maintenance work has been carried out incorrectly.

The joint council of the church had not expected the condition of the building to be so bad, says Øysten Paulsen. He is the churchwarden in the congregation of the Church of Norway. Paulsen points out that the deficits of the building are so severe that they can lead to significant injuries to people who stay near the church building. Last Friday, he notified the local dean and the parish council leader, requesting that the church be closed. On Monday morning, the premise was sealed off indefinitely.

Finished

Now, the church has to find a contractor to repair the church so it can be used again. Paulsen does not know how long this will take. He says he hopes it will still be finished this year.

As long as the building is closed, the congregation will have to use other churches in town for their services and other events. At the same time, congregation members can still be buried at the cemetery surrounding the building.

In total, the joint council of Nordre Follo has reserved 1.3 million NOK to restore the building. They hope that this is sufficient.