Østre Gausdal Church ( no, Østre Gausdal kirke) is a parish church of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

in Gausdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Østre Gausdal, about northwest of the village of Segalstad bru. It is the church for the Sel parish which is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divided ...

. The white, stone church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For instance under Urnes Stave C ...

design around the year 1250 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 280 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1333, but the church was not built that year. The church in Østre Gausdal was built on the Reidvoll farm around the year 1250. Originally, it was called ''Gausdal Church'' (later the word "Østre" or "Eastern" was added to distinguish it from the new

Vestre Gausdal Church Vestre Gausdal Church ( no, Vestre Gausdal kirke or ) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Gausdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Forset. It is the church for the Vestre Gausdal parish which is p ...

). It was originally a

with a rectangular nave (about half as long as the present nave) and a narrower choir with a lower roof line and a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

on the north side of the choir. The church was built out of stone which was quite uncommon in Oppland at that time (only three medieval stone churches were built in that region, compared with many built in other parts of Norway during that time). For centuries, this church was the church for the Gausdal parish. During the Northern Seven Years' War in 1567, the church was taken by the

Swedish army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

and for a time, the building was used as a stable, and then it was later burned. Some of the interior furnishings were saved (possibly they were removed before the Swedes took the church. After the fire, the church was partially restored. Retaining walls were needed to support some of the walls and the burn marks on the walls remained obvious. Before the year 1629, a tower was built above the central part of the nave. In 1715, the church underwent a major renovation and restoration. The old choir was torn down and the old nave was extended to the east, nearly doubling the size. A new choir and

was built on the east end of the newly enlarged nave. New doors and windows were added to the walls. The roof and tower were rebuilt. In 1723, the church was sold at the Norwegian church auction, and it was purchased by Maurids Lie on behalf of the common people in Gausdal. In 1814, this church served as an election church ( 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 th ...

which wrote the

Constitution of Norway nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , b ...

. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish 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 later that year.

Media gallery

Inngangsparti Østre Gausdal kirke-2.JPG Inngangsparti Østre Gausdal kirke.JPG Tårnet på Østre Gausdal kirke.JPG Østre Gausdal kirke - 2.JPG

References

Gausdal Churches in Innlandet Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 13th-century churches in Norway 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church {{DEFAULTSORT:Østre Gausdal Church

History

Media gallery

See also

References