Herdla Church ( no, Herdla 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 ...

Askøy Municipality Askøy is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island municipality is located in the Midhordland district of the county, sitting in a large group of islands immediately northwest of the city of Bergen. The administrative centre of the ...

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 t ...

. It is located on the small island of

Herdla Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...

. It is the church for the Herdla

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 Vesthordland 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, stone 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 1863 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 ...

Christian Heinrich Grosch. The church seats about 540 people.

History

The oldest existing written accounts of this church on Herdla is a letter from

Pope Eugenius III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He w ...

in 1146 that mentions "St. Nicholas's Church on Herdla" la, Ecclesiam sancti Nicholai de hardle. The church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of sailors. The church had similarities with

Moster Church Moster Church ( no, Moster kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bømlo Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located just north of the village of Mosterhamn on the island of Moster. It is the church for the Moster paris ...

and

Kinn Church Kinn Church ( no, Kinn kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kinn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the small island of Kinn. It is one of two churches for the Kinn parish which is part of the Sunnfjord pr ...

, both stone churches without towers. The church belonged under Munkeliv monastery in the nearby city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. The monastery was founded by King Øystein I Magnusson around 1110. Herdla Church began as a small stone church in simple Romanesque style. Later, around 1300, the church was significantly rebuilt and enlarged in a

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

with pointed arches. (It is not clear whether or not this was an extensive renovation to enlarge the building or if it was a completely new building on the same site.) Following storm damage, the church was demolished in 1861 and a larger church was built in 1863. The architect

Christian Christie Eilert Christian Brodtkorb Christie (24 December 1832 – 13 September 1906) was a Norwegian architect. Personal life He was born in Bergen as a son of customs officer Werner Hosewinckel Christie (1785–1872) and Hansine Langsted (1802–1864) ...

designed this church and a lot of the stone from the old church was reused in the construction of the new church. The new, stone

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 ...

with 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 ...

on the east side of the nave. There was a

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 ...

on the south side of the choir and a church porch with a tower on the west end of the nave. The interior was restored in the autumn of 1910 under the direction of

Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland ( – ) was a Norwegian architect, professor and author. Personal life Jens Kielland was a member of the prominent Kielland family. He was born in Stavanger to parish priest and politician Jacob Kielland (1841� ...

. This church burned down in 1934, leaving only the exterior walls remaining after the fire. After the fire, the church was rebuilt on the same foundation, reusing the same exterior walls using plans by the architect Ole Halvorsen. At the same time, a new

was built on the north side of the choir (to match the existing one on the south side). The newly rebuilt 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 22 September 1935. The church was nicknamed the "Øygard Cathedral". The church served most of the old municipality of

which included parts of the present-day municipalities of

Øygarden Øygarden is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the cou ...

, Askøy, and

Meland Meland is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality in Vestland county. ...

. Originally, the church had a taller, steeper roof than the present church. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the church was seriously damaged. The Germans blew up the tower and the church was used to store ammunition and it was also used as horse stalls. Under the floor, a large tunnel system was built that went across the island, including underneath much of the cemetery. During the war years, the island of Herdla was used as a large airfield and the Germans blew off the tower because they were afraid that the church tower could serve as landmark for bombers who came from Britain. After the war, the parish planned to demolish the whole church and build a new church on the same site, however, in the end, it was decided to rebuild using the old walls and foundation. The old walls were shortened by about , and a new roof and tower were constructed. The

Ole Halvorsen led the reconstruction designs again. The newly rebuilt church can seat up to 600 people. It 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 1 April 1951 by the Bishop

Ragnvald Indrebø Ragnvald Andreas Indrebø (22 November 1891–26 June 1984) was a Norwegian Lutheran Bishop. He was born in Os. He was part of the movement to translate the Norwegian Bible into the Nynorsk written language during the 1930s. He edited the per ...

. The church has a lower tower than before, because at that time there were plans to make Herdla the main airport for the city of Bergen. However, Herdla was ultimately not chosen and they airport was built in Flesland in 1955. In May 2008, the low church tower was removed and a larger tower was built, similar to the tower that the German's blew up during World War II.

Media gallery

Askøy - Herdla kirke.jpg Herdla kirke - 20060521.jpg Herdla kirke - door and tower - 20060521.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=November 2021 Askøy Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 12th-century establishments in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Buildings and structures demolished in 1861 Churches completed in 1863

History

Media gallery

See also

References