The Neiden Chapel is situated roughly 30-40 kilometres from Kirkenes, near a small side arm innermost in the fjord Neidenfjord/Munkefjord. The chapel is located on a terrace in an undulating landscape with a birch wooded forest. The building was designed by the architect Karl Norum (1852-1911) and produced by the prefabricated house company Jacob Digre in Trondheim. This project was a result of local aspirations to have church in this area, but perhaps also related to the Norwegian government marking the sovereignty of Eastern Finnmark. Due to its Dragon style, the chapel is reminiscent of Norwegian stave churches. The Dragon style is often referred to as a national style.

The chapel has a basilica form and a narrower, lower-rising chancel. This basilica is a long church with a tall central nave and lower side naves. Posts support the central nave's walls, which have clearstory windows. Above the chapel's entrance is a ridge turret, comprised of multiple form elements that are graduated over many stories. The building has dormers on each end and the saddle roof is covered with wooden shingles. Decorative ridge mouldings, with open worked patterns, run along the ridges of the roofs. These mouldings are terminated with dragon heads above the points of each gable. The building was built using the cogging joint method and externally clad. On both the interior and exterior the chapel has retained its original colours.

Consecrated in 1902

Karl Norum

Church

chapel

Woodwork

timber

cogging joint method

church

chapel

woodwork

timber

cog joint

dragon style

basilica form

ridge turret

dormer

gable roof

ridge board

Eldal, Jens Christian og Jiri Havran: Kirker i Norge, Med historiske forbilder 1800-tallet, Oslo 2002, pp. 182-185

Neiden kapell 1902-1977, Kirkenes 1977