Gyland Church ( no, Gyland 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 ...

in the large Flekkefjord Municipality in Agder 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 Nuland, a few kilometers southwest of the village of

Gyland Gyland is a village in the municipality of Flekkefjord in Agder county in Norway. It is located in the northeastern part of Flekkefjord along the river Gylandselva, just a short distance north of the lake Kumlevollvatnet. The Sørlandet Line runs ...

. It is the church for the Gyland

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

Lister og Mandal prosti This list of churches in Agder og Telemark is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Agder and Vestfold og Telemark counties in southern Norway. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the cit ...

(

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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth larges ...

. The white, wooden 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 1815 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 300 people. Gyland Kirke innvendig 2010

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1596, but there is evidence that there was a church in Gyland as far back as the year 1200. The old medieval stave church was located in what is now the village of

. That church was torn down in the early 1600s and it was replaced by a timber-framed

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 ...

on the same site. In 1663, the church was inspected and found to be in good condition, but in 1794 when the church was again inspected, it was found to be in poor condition with rot and a roof that had leaks. Due to its poor condition, in 1815 the church building was torn down and a new, larger,

building was constructed on the same site, finally being completed in 1817. Some of the materials from the old building were reused in the new building. In 1929, the church site was moved from the village of

to its current location in Nuland, about southwest of the former location. The main reason to move the church was that its new location was more central to the municipality of

that existed at that time. In any case, the church needed major repairs, so something had to be done. The old church was taken down and it was re-constructed at the new site using the same design. The cemetery at the old church site obviously could not be moved and due to the location, it was not possible to establish a new cemetery the new location. In 1970, a new chapel was built at the old church site to serve the cemetery and the new church site is without a cemetery.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=December 2020 Flekkefjord Churches in Agder Wooden churches in Norway Cruciform churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1815 1815 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References