Åmli Church ( no, Åmli kyrkje) is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the Church of Norway in

Åmli Municipality Åmli is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative cen ...

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It is located in the village of

Åmli Åmli is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative center is the village of Åmli which lies along the river Nidelva. Other villages in Åmli i ...

. It is one of the churches for the Åmli

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

which is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti ( deanery) in the

Diocese of Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth larges ...

. The white, wooden,

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

church was built in a long church design in 1909 using plans drawn up by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Ludvig Karlsen. The church seats about 450 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1378, but it was possibly founded during the 13th century. The first church was built about east of the present site of the church. In 1724, the priest Niels Pedersen purchased all the churches in Åmli

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a di ...

when the King put them up for sale to help pay off his war debts. Over the years, the ownership of the church passed between many different people. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church ( no, valgkirke) is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national election ...

( no, valgkirke). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised t ...

which wrote the Constitution of Norway. This was Norway's first national elections. Each

church parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information ...

later that year. In 1818, the church was purchased by the people of the parish. Shortly afterwards, the parish decided to tear down the centuries-old church and build a new one on the same site. In 1826, the new

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

church was completed. It was consecrated in 1827 by the Bishop

Johan Storm Munch Johan Storm Munch (31 August 1778 – 26 January 1832) was a bishop in the Church of Norway. He was also known as a poet, playwright, and magazine editor. Munch was born at Vågå in Oppland county, Norway. He was the son of parish priest P ...

. This church was a wooden building with many windows and its exterior was painted white. Nearly 50 years later, it was decided to replace the church again because it was in bad shape. The foundation was failing and the roof was in dire need of repair. In conjunction with building a new church, it was also decided to move the location of the church about to the west, much closer to the village of Åmli. Ludvig Karlsen was hired to lead the construction of the new timber-framed church on the new site. The last service in the old church was held on 15 March 1885 and the next day on 16 March 1885, the new church was consecrated by the Bishop Jacob Sverdrup Smitt. Shortly after that, the old church was torn down. That church only lasted a short time because on 24 March 1907, during the

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...

worship service, the church caught fire and burned down. Soon after, plans were made to rebuild a church on the same site. Tellef Mosbergplassen was hired to lead the construction of the new building which was to be based on the plans for the previous building from 1885. A new church was completed in 1909 and it was consecrated on 18 November 1909. In 2009, there was a small expansion in the entry area of the building.

Media gallery

Aamli IMG 1970 aamli krk.JPG Aamli IMG 1969 aamli krk.JPG Aamli IMG 1968 aamli krk.JPG

References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Åmli Churches in Agder Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1909 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References