Furnes Church ( no, Furnes 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 ...

Ringsaker Municipality is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Brumunddal. Other settlements in Ringsaker include the town of Moelv and the vi ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...

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 Furnes. It is the church for the Furnes

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

Ringsaker prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar which includes all of Innlandet county (plus two municipalities in Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each ...

(

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 Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divided ...

. The white, stone church was built in a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

design in 1708 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 ...

Hans Nielsen. The church seats about 390 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the 1570s, but the church was not built at that time. The first church was a wooden stave church that was likely built during the 14th century. This church was probably located at Deglum, about east of the present church site. Records show that the old church was repaired a number of times over the centuries. In 1700, however, the parish decided to replace the church with a new building on a new site. The new church would be built on a site about west of the old church site because the old site was too wet and the new site was drier and therefore a better building location. The parish decided to build a stone

building. The mason Hans Nielsen from Christiania was hired to build the new church, using the Oslo Cathedral (built in 1697) as a model. Stone from the Old Hamar Cathedral was used in the construction of this new church. Construction took place from 1702 to 1707 (there was a break of two years during the construction). The 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 ...

on 12 July 1708 by Bishop Hans Munch. Some furniture was transferred from the old church into the new church. The old church was demolished after the new one was completed. Originally, the church had a tower over the centre of the

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 ...

. In 1811–1812, the tower was rebuilt and made larger. In 1876–1877, the church underwent a large renovation led by the architect Paul Due, which significantly changed the character of the building. The old tower was removed and a new church porch with a large tower was built on the west end of the nave. Inside the church, the flat ceiling was removed and a high, vaulted ceiling was used. There were new benches installed in the nave. The interior was painted with new colors. In 1957–1958, the church interior was renovated again by Finn Krafft and Bjarne Hvoslef. The vaulted ceiling was closed in with a new flat ceiling. The

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 ...

was enlarged and the second floor seating galleries were removed.

Media gallery

Furnes kirke III.jpg Furnes kirke.jpg FV72 Furnes krk I.jpg Furnes kirke interiør 0412-12463.jpg Furnes kirke interiør 0412-14875.jpg Furnes kirke interiør HHB-00110.jpg Furnes kirke – Prekestol.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2022 Churches in Ringsaker Churches in Innlandet Cruciform churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 18th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1708 14th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References