Brattvær Church ( no, Brattvær 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 in

Smøla Municipality Smøla is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hopen, other villages include Dyrnes, Råket, and Veiholmen. The municipality ...

in Møre og Romsdal 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 tiny hamlet of Brattvær, just south of the larger village of

Råket Råket is a village in Smøla Municipality in Møre og Romsdal 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 por ...

on the western coast of the island of Smøla. It is the church for the Brattvær

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

Ytre Nordmøre prosti Ytre may refer to: People: * Knut Ytre-Arne (1896–1968), Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party Places: *Ytre Østfold, the outer area of Østfold county (Norway) that has a fjord or coastal line * Ytre Øydnavatnet, lake in the municipality ...

( deanery) in the

Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1917 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 ...

Jakob Parelius Holmgren. The church seats about 420 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1589, but the church was not new that year. It may have been built in the 1400s. The church originally stood on the highest hill on the small island of Brattværet, one of the larger islands about northwest of the main island of Smøla. In 1661, the church was described as 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 ar ...

without a tower or spire. The church did not have a very good churchyard in which coffins could be buried due to the rocky land. In the early 1700s, the church blew down in a large storm. Soon after, in 1709, a chapel was erected on the site. This chapel building was standing until 1888. In the 1880s, it was decided to replace the old Brattvær Church, but to build it on the main island of Smøla. The new church was built in 1885 at Skarpeneset on the west coast of Smøla. The church was designed by

Henrik Nissen Johannes Henrik Nissen ( 21 April 1848 – 4 June 1915) was a Norwegian architect. Personal life He was born in Christiania as a son of school manager Hartvig Nissen (1815–1874) and Karen Magdalena Aas (1820–1900). He was a great-grandson ...

and Holm Munthe. After lightning strikes on 20 November 1913, the church burned down to the ground and all the historic furniture inside was lost. Work on planning a new church on the same site started immediately. The new wooden long church building was designed by Jakob Holmgren and the lead builder was O. Hamnes. The church was consecrated on 26 September 1917. In 1954, electricity was installed in the building for the first time. In the late-1970s bathrooms were installed in the building. A renovation of the building was completed in 2007 after damage from a lightning strike. The church received new white exterior paint, a new electrical system, and a newly rebuilt roof.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brattvaer Church Smøla Churches in Møre og Romsdal Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1917 15th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References