Fedje Church ( no, Fedje 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 Fedje Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fedje on the northern coast of the island of Fedje. It is the church for the Fedje 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 plastered brick 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 1941 using plans drawn up by the architect Ole Halvorsen. The church seats about 400 people. The church is built of brick and covered with white plaster. This was chosen because it is better suited than wood for the harsh marine climate on Fedje. The roof consists of slate from

Alta Alta or ALTA may refer to: Acronyms * Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage * American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry * American Literary Translators Associatio ...

and the tower is covered with copper.

History

The earliest existing historical records of a chapel at Fedje date back to the year 1636, but the chapel was not built that year. The first chapel was a small wooden building that was possibly built during the 14th century (in the mid-1600s, it was described as being very old). The chapel was an annex chapel within the large Lindaas prestegjeld. Shortly after the last worship service on 24 April 1659, the old chapel was torn down and on 21 August of the same year, 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 as the first official church on Fedje. The church was not much larger than the chapel on the site—the nave was only long. Extensive repairs were carried out around the year 1800. Again in 1869, the church got a new floor and three new windows. After two major repairs during the 1800s, the church was still in poor condition by the 1880s, so it was decided to replace the church. After a fundraising campaign, the old church was demolished in 1888 and a small wooden church was built. The new building was designed by an architect named Norøen and Peder Gabrielsen Spjutøy was the lead builder. The nave was , the chancel was , the church porch under the tower was , and the

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 ...

measured . The church had 78 seats. This new church was

consecrated 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 ...

by Bishop Waldemar Hvoslef on 17 October 1888. The new church, however, quickly became too small for the congregation. By 1918, the parishioners began a plan to finance a new and larger church. By the late 1930s, plans were underway to replace the small church. Ole Halvorson, from Bergen, was hired to design the new church and a builder named Lunde was hired to lead the construction. Site work began in 1937 and in 1939 the old church was torn down. Construction on the new church began right away in 1939, but unfortunately the start of World War II and the Invasion of Norway delayed the completion of the new church. It was not until 1941 that the church was finished and on 7 September 1941 it was

d by the Bishop Andreas Fleischer.

Media gallery

Fedje (April 2014).jpg Fedje church from traffic central.JPG

References

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2021 Fedje Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Brick churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1941 14th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References