Hitra Church ( no, Hitra 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 ...

Hitra Hitra is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality covers the island of Hitra and hundreds smaller islands, islets, and skerries. It is part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village ...

municipality in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

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 the village of

Melandsjøen Melandsjøen or Melandsjø is a village in the municipality of Hitra in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located on the north shore of the island of Hitra, just across the strait from the island of Dolmøya. Melandsjøen was the admi ...

on the north shore of the island of Hitra. It is one of the churches for the ''Hitra og Fillan''

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

Orkdal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros which covers all of Trøndelag county in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each deanery in the diocese. Administrati ...

(

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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. The square-shaped, stone 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 ...

style in 1927 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 ...

Claus Hjelte Claus (sometimes Clas) is both a given name and a German, Danish, and Dutch surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1907–1944), a German officer who, along with others, attempted to assassina ...

(1884-1969). The church seats about 400 people.

History

The medieval Dolm Church served the parish of Hitra for nearly 800 years before it burned down on the night of 3 February 1920. Seven days after the fire, the parish decided that the church would be rebuilt about away on the other side of the Dolmsundet strait in the village of

. This would make it more accessible to the congregation since it was going to be the main church for the

. The old Dolm Church was located on the island of

Dolmøya Dolmøya is an island in the municipality of Hitra in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located in the Frøyfjorden, just north of the village of Melandsjøen on the island of Hitra. The island of Dolmøya is flat, swampy, and has very ...

and Melandsjøen was on the nearby (larger) island of Hitra where the majority of the people lived. The new church would be built on the site of a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

that had been built in Melandsjøen in 1904. This change was not without controversy, but the parish agreed to maintain the old Dolm Church would be rebuilt and maintained as an annex church in the parish, rather than just tear it down. The new church was designed by the

Claus Hjelte and it was built in 1927. The new church is actually built in a cruciform design, but four other rooms were built on each side of the cross-shaped

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 ...

giving the building a nearly square shape. The building was constructed out of local stone. The central part of the nave has a higher ceiling height than the rest of the building and there is a copper

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

-style dome with a cross spire on the top. The 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 15 December 1927.

References

External links

Hitra kirke website
{{use dmy dates, date=July 2021 Hitra Churches in Trøndelag Cruciform churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1927 1927 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References

External links