Before the Steeples Fall

Facility Management (FM) techniques applied to churches, with emphasis on the churches of the Diocese of Møre

The church is a building old and tall,

Standing though steeples are falling.

Fell into ruins steeples all,

Bells are still chiming and calling…

N. F. S. Grundtvig, 1837

This hymn describes the churches as old tumbledown buildings, and throughout history many churches have suffered this fate. On the other hand, few buildings have received as much attention and care as the churches. In the year 1024, the assembly of Moster decided that the King was to be responsible for providing the priests while the people were to maintain the churches. Since then, the building and maintenance of the parish church has been the largest task of the Norwegian local community, at least until the last part of the 19.th century.

What is the state of our churches today? How do we manage them through their life cycle before the steeples fall? And how should we best take care of them to avoid letting them fall into a state of decay and disrepair? The Facility Management (FM) project – and this dissertation – discusses these questions