Kongsberg Kirke

           A demanding contract , Gloger signed the contract to build an organ in Kongsberg's new church for the price of 2 200 riksdaler (old Norwegian currency). He was personally responsible for all expenses incurred in connection with the building. The finished instrument had 42 voices distributed over three manuals and pedals. The Organ was equipped with six large bellows. Via a separate register bell, the organist passed a message to the calcants (bellow treaders) to tell them when they should begin treading. This arrangement is also used today in some concerts. At that time, the Gloger Organ was considered an organ of considerable size, and it was the largest Gloger would ever build. The Organ was finally finished in 1765, and it was a considerably impoverished and reduced organ builder who was ultimately paid 4 000 riksdaler for his work. The fate of the Gloger Organ In the years leading to around 1850, the Organ underwent a number of repairs, one of these being to the bellows which were exposed to a lf the 1800s, the organ-building tradition was undergoing a period of conflict, and many people believed that Baroque organs were old-fashioned. During a fire in the church loft at the end of the 1880s, the Organ was severely water damaged and, instead of repairing the Gloger Organ, the church had a new organ built by a German, Albert Hollenbach. As time passed, the church community became increasingly keen to have the old Gloger Organ restored to its original playing r Organ from 1765 was therefore not restored in accordancade. , it was only in Kongsberg that there were enough organ parts to enable restoration of the organ itself. Following a long period of fund-raising for the restoration, in 1997 the Committee was able to siWe must assume that the sounds from the Organ today are the same as those that were heard in the second half of the 1700s. A national treasure Kongsberg now owns Scandinavia's greatest historical instrument with 42 voices. Because of this, Kongsberg has international status as a concert church, and the town has made significant strides in its development as a cultural centre. The work of taking care of and restoring not only a national treasure but also the greatest Baroque organ in Scandinavia, was a major 

Fortunately, most parts of the Organ had been looked after and were stored in the church loft. The next attempt to restore the Organ took place in 1974 on the initiative of the young and newly employed organist, Reidar Hauge, but the time was still not ripe for the restoration. Scandinavia's greatest Baroque organ is restored There are a number e Gloger Committee began work on the restoration process in 1993