Førde Church ( no, Førde 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 Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Førde. It is the church for the Førde parish which is part of the Sunnfjord 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, 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 1885 using plans drawn up by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 475 people.

Building

Førde Church sits on a small hill overlooking the river Jølstra. The river was originally about to the west, but in the spring of 1780 during an ice storm, the river broke through its shores and changed its course. Since then, the river has flowed almost to the west instead. The church is long, the nave measuring , and wide. To the east, there is a pentagonal chancel with vestries on each side. The porch to the west is a quadrangle that is , and it has a base for a high steeple. The church has a large gallery, where an organ was installed when the church was new.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1327, but the church was not new at that time. The first church in Førde was likely a wooden stave church. Around 1620–1625, a new timber-framed nave was built adjacent to the old church and the existing medieval church was converted into the new chancel for the newly enlarged building. In 1814, this church served as an election church ( no, valgkirke). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

which wrote the

Constitution of Norway nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , b ...

. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in Eidsvoll later that year. In 1838, the church was torn down and replaced by a small timber-framed

. In 1885, the church was torn down and a new wooden

was built on the same site. It was designed by Jacob Wilhelm Nordan and the lead builder was Iver Løtvedt. 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 1 October 1885 by the Bishop

Fredrik Waldemar Hvoslef Waldemar Hvoslef (17 March 1825 – 5 May 1906) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop. Fredrik Waldemar Hvoslef was born in Christiania (now Oslo) and grew up in Holmestrand in Vestfold. He was the son of Jens Hvoslef (1783–1830) who served as Magis ...

. In 1941–1951, the church was significantly renovated according to plans by

Finn Bryn The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nor ...

. During this renovation, the interior ceiling was rebuilt as flat instead of vaulted. The windows were replaced, the tower was rebuilt, and a new electrical lighting system was installed. In 1970 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 ...

was rebuilt and running water was installed. A new bathroom facility was built in 1975. A wheelchair entrance was built in 1983 and the church porch was renovated in 1985.

Media gallery

Fordekyrkje.jpg Førde kirke - no-nb digifoto 20150121 00051 NB MIT FNR 19635.jpg Førde kyrkje frå 'uvanleg' vinkel.jpg Førde kyrkje sign.jpg Førde kyrkje1.jpg Førde kyrkje.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forde Church Sunnfjord Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1885 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

Building

History

Media gallery

See also

References