The Norwegian Church from outside

Norwegian Church Arts Centre

Cardiff


Looking as though it's popped out of the pages of a story book, this white-slatted wooden building with a black witch's-hat spire was modelled on a traditional Norwegian village church. It was built in 1868 to minister to Norwegian sailors and remained a place of worship until 1974. It has now been reincarnated as an arts centre hosting exhibitions, concerts, markets and arts courses, with a gallery upstairs and and a terraced cafe overlooking the bay and port area downstairs.

Writer Roald Dahl, whose parents were from Norway, was christened here and served as president of the preservation trust that restored and renovated the church. Today, the gallery bears his name.