The Norwegian community is celebrating in Mijas. At the weekend the group celebrated the anniversary of its church, which celebrates no less than 20 years since its creation as the first temple in Spain. A jubilee that was attended by the Norwegian Ambassador to Spain, Nils Haugstveit, and many Norwegian citizens living in Spain who came to their church in Calahonda to celebrate together such an important day.
Among the participants was Randi Veines who said that "today is a special mass because the bishop is here. This year is the anniversary of the church on the Costa del Sol, 20 years already. We come from the Norwegian church in Torrevieja to be at the celebration. There are a lot of Norwegians here, we love it. I have been in Spain for 22 years and I am not going anywhere else. This is my home. Merethe Thortveit, is the manager of the church in Lanzarote. "I have been in Spain since 1992, in Lanzarote to be precise, and we have come here for the anniversary. This is a beautiful place and it's a lovely celebration".
The official ceremony was attended by both the councillor for Foreigners, Mario Bravo (PP), and the councillor for Residential Tourism, Juan Carlos Cuevas (Vox), who accompanied the community on this day of festivities, joy and celebration. Bravo stressed that "this headquarters is much more than a religious building. This is their place of reference on the Costa del Sol as here they have a school, a small student residence and a restaurant. This is their social headquarters, it is a great centre of coexistence for the whole Norwegian community in the area". The councillor for Foreigners also recalled the origin of this community: "20 years ago an old Norwegian fishermen's guild bought the building and converted it into this social centre. Today we are celebrating this day with them". During the event, Bravo took the stage on behalf of the municipality to give a short speech to the group, in which he spoke about the history of the building, also recalled that he had already celebrated its tenth anniversary with them and shared some of his own anecdotes with the attendees.
For his part, Cuevas stated that "we are grateful for the visit of the Norwegian Ambassador to Spain, for the 20th anniversary of the Norwegian church in Sitio de Calahonda. We had an interesting talk about the proposals and needs of the residents of Mijas. He also told me about the need for more attention to the foreign public in general in public entities".
The central act of the celebration was a thanksgiving mass, where in consideration of the local attendees, some parts were read in Spanish. The celebration ended with coffee and cake, as well as speeches by the organisers and those responsible for the event.
The Norwegian church in Mijas is situated in Sitio de Calahonda, on Avenida del Cortijo. It sits on a building noted for its history, an emblematic old farmhouse which is included in the Catalogue of Protected Assets of the Mijas Town Hall. A place with a long history: it was a Fort House during the French invasion, the Migueletes Barracks in the 19th century, the Cortijo de Calahonda and even a hotel, El Campanario, in the 1970s.
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