The main entrance side of the Northern Lights Cathedral.

© Checco2/Shutterstock

Northern Lights Cathedral

Top choice in Western Finnmark


Opened in 2013, the daringly designed Northern Lights Cathedral, next to the Scandic Hotel Alta, is one of the architectural icons of the north, with its swirling pyramid structure clad in rippling titanium sheets. The interior is similarly eye-catching, with an utterly modern 4.3m-high bronze Christ by Danish artist Peter Brandes – note how the figure gets lighter as your eyes move up the body.

The cathedral is at its best in winter when aglow in floodlights and the aurora borealis is in the sky behind. Stunning.

Within the cathedral's walls, there is also the excellent Borealis Alta interactive exhibition, devoted to both the magic and the science of the Northern Lights – it's well worth it.


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