Fjærland Church ( no, Fjærland 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 ...

Sogndal Municipality Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

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

Fjærland Fjærland or Mundal is a village in Sogndal Municipality, at the end of the Fjærlandsfjorden, in Vestland county, Norway. The Fjærlandfjorden is a branch going north off the Sognefjorden, the longest fjord in Norway. The village area is located ...

, near the northern end of the

Fjærlandsfjorden Fjærlandsfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It is a fjord arm that branches off the main Sognefjorden to the north, running through Sogndal Municipality. The long fjord begins at the village of Fjærland in Sogndal, flowing to the so ...

. It is the church for the Fjærland

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

Sogn prosti Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway ''(Vestlandet)''. It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

(

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 1861 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 ...

Christian Henrik Grosch Christian Heinrich Grosch (21 January 1801 – 4 May 1865) was a Norwegian architect. He was a dominant figure in Norwegian architecture in the first half of the 1800s. Biography Christian Heinrich Grosch was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. H ...

. The church seats about 300 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1306, but the church was not new that year. The first church at Fjærland was likely built in the 12th century and it was a wooden

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 ...

. Historically, the church was also known as the ''Mundal Church''. In 1610, the church was destroyed in a storm. A new

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

was built at Mundal to replace the old church. The building was described as a small church with a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

that measured about and a

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 ...

that measured about . Inside, the church had twisted black and brown colored branches painted on the walls and the ceiling had a large painting of the sun, moon, and stars. Around 1680, a new

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

and tower were built on the west end. In 1861, the church was torn down to make room for the present church. In 1931, the church was expanded and remodeled. The architect Johan Lindstrom was responsible for the major expansion of the church that year. During the renovation, the old

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

was removed and a spire with a cross on top was put in its place, giving the church a unique look. The 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 again on 13 August 1931 by Bishop

Andreas Fleischer Andreas Fleischer (5 November 1878–23 November 1957) was a Norwegian theologian, missionary to China, and Lutheranism, Lutheran Bishop. He was born in Hegra, Norway, and was a brother to General Carl Gustav Fleischer. He was Bishop of the Dioce ...

after the renovations. From ancient times the village had no road connections to the outside world. All transportation to and from the outside world took place via the Fjærlandsfjord. The first road into Fjærland to Skei in Jølster to the north was in 1986 and then a road and tunnel to

Sogndalsfjøra Sogndalsfjøra is a village in the municipality of Sogndal in Vestland county, Norway. It is located where the river Sogndalselvi runs out in the Sogndalsfjorden, a branch of the large Sognefjorden. The village is located about northwest of the v ...

to the south was completed in 1994. After a referendum in 2000, the village was transferred from Balestrand to Sogndal municipality. This also meant that the church switched from the Balestrand parish to the Sogndal parish.

Media gallery

File:Church at Fjærland.jpg, Exterior front File:Fjærland kirke 2012 - 2.jpg, Exterior back File:Fjærland kirke 2012 - 6.jpg, View of the spire File:Fjærland kirke 2012 - 4.jpg, View of the main doors File:Fjærland kyrkje Lindahl.jpg, View of the church before the 1931 reconstruction

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjaerland Church Sogndal Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1861 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References