Christ Church was the main church and cathedral of Bergen in the Middle Ages. The church was built by King Olav Kyrre during the period 1066-1093. The church was situated north of Haakon's hall, the King's hall. It was dedicated to the Holy Trinity but was always known as Christ Church. In 1170 the relics of Saint Sunniva were moved here from Selja and placed on the main altar.
During Bergen's period as the capital of Norway in the 13th century, Holmen and Christ Church was the political centre of the country. The church itself was used for negotiations and the churchyard was used for hailing of kings and meetings of the realm. The first coronation in Scandinavia was held in Bergen in 1163 and several royal coronations were held in the church when it was finished. The kings were also married and buried in the church.
In 1531 the church was levelled to the ground by order of Eske Bille, the Danish governor of Bergenhus Fortress. Today the outline of the church is marked by a hedge. A memorial to Saint Sunniva and the royals buried there is placed on the site of the high altar.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.