Austad Church ( no, Austad 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 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 ...

Bygland Municipality Bygland is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bygland. Other villages in the municipality include Åraksbø, Austad, ...

in Agder 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 t ...

. It is located in the village of

Tveit Tveit is a village and surrounding district in Oddernes borough in the city of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The Tveit district is located in the northeastern part of Kristiansand, northeast of the Topdalsfjorden along the lower part of t ...

on the south shore of the river Otra, just off the Norwegian National Road 9. It is one of the churches for the Bygland og Årdal

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 ...

which is part of the

Otredal prosti This list of churches in Agder og Telemark is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Agder and Vestfold og Telemark counties in southern Norway. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the c ...

(

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 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 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 in 1880 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 ...

Oskar Fabricius who was from

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. The church seats about 250 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1328, but it was likely built around the year 1200. The original building was a stave church and it was located at Austad, about to the southeast of the present church site (and on the other side of the river). After the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

, the church was without its own priest for many years (around 1350-1400). After that, it was an annex to the

Bygland Church Bygland Church ( no, Bygland kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bygland Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bygland on the eastern shore of the Byglandsfjorden, just alongside the Norwegian Na ...

. In 1668, the old stave church was torn down and a small log church was built in its place on the same site. In 1872, the old church was in very poor condition, so the parish began to look into its options. In 1878, the parish received permission to tear down and replace the old building. In 1880, a new church was built at Tveit, about to the northwest and on the other side of the river from the old church site and when the new church was completed, the old church was torn down and the old materials were sold. The new church was

consecrate Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

d on 7 July 1880 by the Bishop Jørgen Moe.

Media gallery

Austad kyrkje i Bygland Lindahl.jpeg, View of the church circa 1885. Bygland, Austad kyrkje.JPG, View of the church from a distance. Austad stavkirkeportal Unimus C8666.jpg, Carved designs from the old Austad stave church.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Bygland Churches in Agder Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1880 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References