The red, wooden church was built in an octagonal style in 1715 using plans drawn up by the architect Johan Christopher Hempel (died 1729).

The Bakklandet residents tithed quite a bit and sent a lot of income to the bishop, Peder Krog, who in Bakkelandet and served as a local parish priest.

This led to plans to demolish the church, especially after the opening of the new Bakke bridge in 1927.

Site work took place around the building and then the whole church was raised with a jack and moved several meters to the southeast in 1939.

The move and restoration of the church was led by the architects John Egil Tverdahl and E.