Octagonal churches in Norway

[5] During the 1600s, the cruciform floor plan tended to replace the traditional simple rectangular "long church".

In the cruciform church, the view to the altar is partly obstructed by walls, a drawback that is not found in the octagonal shape.

The octagonal shape also allows the pulpit to be the focal point, according to the ideals of the Reformation where the spoken word (the sermon) should be the central act during a worship service.

Johan Christopher Hempel, architect and master builder of Hospitalskirken in Trondheim, was probably from the Netherlands where the octagonally shaped church first appeared and spread to other Protestant countries in Northern Europe.

The octagonal floor plan came to Denmark when Frederiksberg Church was built by Dutch Felix Dusart.

The baroque Katharinenkirche in Großenaspe, Schleswig-Holstein, is an octagonal design with "pulpit altar" (″Kanzelaltar″ in German) used for instance in Sør-Fron Church.

Hosar suggests that Norwegian troops did military service in Schleswig-Holstein, and may have observed the new churches being constructed there at the time.

[7] The octagonal shape provides a more rigid log structure than the simple rectangular long church design, allowing a larger nave to be built.

[13] Johan Christopher Hempel, chief mason and builder of Trondheim, designed the two oldest existing octagonal churches.

Master builder and politician Elling Olsson Walbøe designed and constructed at least three octagonal churches.

During this period, 17 octagonal churches appeared in the Diocese of Nidaros (all of Norway north of the Dovrefjell mountains).