Austre Moland Church ( no, Austre Moland kirke) 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 ...

Arendal Municipality Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

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 t ...

. It is located in the Brekka, along the lake Molandsvann. It is one of the churches for the Moland

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

Arendal 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 cit ...

(

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

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 described ...

design in 1673 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 ...

Ole Ormsen. The church seats about 496 people. The church was called ''Østre Moland kirke'' until 1919 when it was renamed ''Austre Moland kirke'' after some Norwegian spelling reforms.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1450, but the church was likely founded in the 13th century. The first church here was a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts a ...

. The church had its own priest until around the year 1400 when it became a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

for the

Holt Church Holt Church ( no, Holt kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tvedestrand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located just south of the village of Fiane, Tvedestrand, Fiane. It is one of the churches for the Holt parish which ...

parish. In 1633, the old stave church was torn down and replaced with a new church building on the same site. In 1673, the church was torn down again and replaced with a new

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 1750, a new tower was built on the church under the direction of

Ole Nilsen Weierholt Ole Nilsen Weierholt (December 29, 1718 – December 14, 1792) was a Wood carving, wood carver, primarily known as a pattern maker for ironworks in Aust-Agder, Nedenes Counties of Norway, county, Norway, especially for the Næs Ironworks. He created ...

. The

church bell A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and t ...

s date from 1750 and 1754, so they were added after the new tower was completed. In 1779, the church underwent a large renovation and expansion. A new

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

was built on the east end of the old building and two new wings were built on either side of the church (to the north and south) to create a new

design. The builder Beint Gundersen Skjævestad led this renovation. In 1797, the interior of the church was painted for the first time. The painting and other decoration of the church was carried out by Anders Grundesøn Løwe from

Risør is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located on the Skagerrak coast in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of Risør municipality is the town of Risør. There are many villages in Risør such as Akland, ...

at a cost of 300

riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler. ...

, and his fellow artist Nils Christensen created all of the portraits of the angels and apostles. The building underwent a major restoration in 1961.

Media gallery

A-Moland-krk.jpg AMoland krk (1).JPG Austre Moland kirke IMG 5591 Austre Moland.jpg Austre Moland kirke3.JPG Austre Moland kirke5.JPG Austre Moland kirkested 06.JPG Austre Moland kirkested 18.JPG Begravelse AMoland kirke.JPG Austre Moland kirke - mot alteret.jpg

References

External links

Kulturminnesøk: Austre Moland kirkested.Kirkesøk: Austre Moland kirke.
{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Buildings and structures in Arendal Churches in Agder Cultural heritage of Norway Cruciform churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1673 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links