Guddal Church ( no, Guddal 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 in

Fjaler Municipality Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Dale. Other places in Fjaler include Espedal, Flekke, Folkestad, Guddal, and Hell ...

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 the ...

. It is located in the village of

Guddal Guddal is a village in Fjaler Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located about southeast of the village of Flekke, in the Guddalen valley. The village of Vadheim (in Høyanger Municipality) lies about to the southeast o ...

. It is one of two churches for the Fjaler

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 o ...

which is part of the

Sunnfjord prosti Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the southern ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1686 using plans drawn up by an unknown

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 ...

. The church seats about 135 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1327, but it wasn't new at that time. The first church 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 ar ...

located on the same site as the present church that was likely established during the 13th century. In 1686, the medieval church was torn down and it was replaced with a new church on the same site. The new building was a

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 woode ...

long church that had 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 ...

which measured plus 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 sp ...

that measured . It also had a

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 ...

on the west end of the building. In 1870, the church underwent major renovations and an expansion. This project included lengthening the

and rebuilding the roof higher than the previous roof. A new tower was also constructed on the new roof. John Alver was the lead builder for this project. The 1686 church originally had interior paneling that was covered with painted rosemåling. This paneling was not kept in the 1870 renovations. The church was consecrated again on 25 September 1870 after an extensive expansion. The church was almost completely rebuilt, so some sources state 1870 as the church's date of construction since even though some parts of the church are much older. In 1910, a wood stove was installed to provide heat in the church. In 1924, a sacristy was constructed alongside the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

. In 1955, electric lighting was installed in the church. In 1970, the old wood stove was removed and electric heating was installed in the church.

Media gallery

Guddal kyrkje 02.JPG Guddal kyrkje 03.JPG Guddal kyrkje 05.JPG

References

{{use dmy dates, date=September 2021 Fjaler Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1686 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References