Herøya Church ( no, Herøya 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 ...

Porsgrunn Municipality is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn was ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

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 Herøya in the town of Porsgrunn. It is one of the churches for the Eidanger

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

Skien 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 brick church was built in a rectangular design in 1957 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 ...

s Helge Abrahamsen and Hans Grinde. The church seats about 430 people, but can hold up to 700 people if the movable walls are changed to maximize seating in the main room.

History

In 1928, Norsk Hydro opened a factory on Herøya and as part of the design of the area, the company including a place for a new church as part of the residential areas surrounding the factory. After

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 ...

, there was a push to get the church built on Herøya. Norsk Hydro donated land for the church and contributed money towards the construction costs. The church was designed by Helge Abrahamsen and Hans Grinde. 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 27 August 1957 by Bishop

Johannes Smidt Johannes Smidt (19 November 1887 – 15 May 1973) was a Norwegian theologian and priest in the Church of Norway. He served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Agder from 1951 until 1957. Personal life Smidt was born on 19 November 1887 in Herad mun ...

. The church is a modern design, built out of brick and concrete, and covered with white plaster on the outside. There is a free-standing

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

near the main entrance to the church. The church was restored in 1988 and 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heroya Church Buildings and structures in Porsgrunn Churches in Telemark Rectangular churches in Norway Brick churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1957 1957 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References