Austrheim Church ( no, Austrheim kyrkje) 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
Austrheim Municipality
Austrheim is a municipality in the Nordhordland region of Vestland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årås. Other villages in the municipality include Austrheim and Kaland. The Mongstad industrial ...
in
Vestland county,
Norway. It is located in the village of
Austrheim on the island of
Fosnøyna
Fosnøyna or Fosnøy is an island in the municipality of Austrheim in Vestland county, Norway. The island makes up the majority of the land area of the municipality. The island is located east of the Fedjefjorden and south of the Fensfjorden. The ...
. It is the church for the Austrheim
parish which is part of the
Nordhordland 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 Bjørgvin
The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...
. 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 1865 using plans drawn up by the
architect Askild Åse. The church seats about 355 people.
History
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1329, but it was not built that year. The first church was a wooden
stave church that was likely built during the 13th century. That old church was replaced by a log church during the early 1600s. On 16 November 1710, the church tower was badly damaged by
lightning and major repairs were carried out afterwards to repair the tower and its supporting structures. In 1865, a new church was built about to the northeast of the old church site. It 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 2 April 1865 by the Bishop
Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland. After the new church completed, the old church was demolished.
Media gallery
Austrheim kirke (Austrheim).jpg
Austrheim kyrkje, inne.jpg
Gamal altartavle Austrheim.jpg
Altar Austrheim.jpg
Døypefont Austrheim.jpg
See also
*
List of churches in Bjørgvin
References
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2021
Austrheim
Churches in Vestland
Long churches in Norway
Wooden churches in Norway
19th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Churches completed in 1865
13th-century establishments in Norway