Flå Church ( no, Flå 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 ...

Melhus Melhus is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus. Other villages include Gåsbakken, Hovin, Korsvegen, Kvål, Ler, Lundamo, St ...

municipality in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

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 Ler, just off the

European route E06 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and thr ...

highway. It is the church for the Flå

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

Gauldal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros which covers all of Trøndelag county in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each deanery in the diocese. Administra ...

(

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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. 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 ...

style in 1794 using plans drawn up by the builder Lars Kristoffersen Kirkflå. The church seats about 150 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1432, but the church was not new that year. The first church in Flå 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 ...

that was located at ''Kjørkflaa'', about northeast of the present church site in Ler. The church was likely built in the 14th century. The church was likely damaged in a large flood in 1345 that was caused when a landslide blocked a river which rose quickly and flooded a lot of land including the church. Around 1665-1670, the old church was torn down and replaced with a new church on the same site. The new church was a wooden

with a spire on the roof. In 1713, it was noted in an inspection report that "the church is in a dangerous place, so it is very necessary to have it moved." In 1793, permission was granted by royal decree to build a new church since the church was fairly dilapidated. It was also decided to move the church site about to the southwest, into the village of Ler, which was a more suitable location for the parish. In 1794, a new church was completed in Ler and afterwards, the old church was torn down. The new church was built by the master builder Lars Kristoffersen Kirkflå. 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 on 30 November 1794.

Media gallery

Flå kirke i Melhus 001.JPG Flå kirke i Melhus 003.JPG Flå kirkested.jpg Flå kyrkje i Mehlus 2.JPG Flå kyrkje i Melhus 1.JPG Flå kyrkje i Melhus.JPG

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaa Church Melhus Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 18th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1794 14th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References