Husnes Church ( no, Husnes kyrkje; historically: ) 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 ...

Kvinnherad Municipality Kvinnherad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in size in former Hordaland county. The administrative centre of the m ...

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 in the village of

Husnes Husnes is the largest village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Hardangerfjorden on the Folgefonna peninsula, about south of the village of Herøysund and immediately nort ...

. It one of the three churches for the ''Husnes og Holmedal''

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

Sunnhordland prosti Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...

(

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, wooden 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 1874 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 ...

J. Utne. The church seats about 280 people.

History

This church has existed since the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1337, but it was not new that year. The first church was located at ''Kaldestad'', about southwest of the present site of the church. At that time, it was called ''Kaldestad Church'' . That 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 a ...

that was likely built during the 13th century. During the 1630s or 1640s (definitely before 1660), the old church was torn down and replaced by a new

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 wooden ...

on the same site. Prior to 1865, the church was owned by the

Barony Rosendal Barony Rosendal (Norwegian: ''Baroniet Rosendal'') is a historic estate and manor house situated in Kvinnherad in Hordaland county, Norway. The barony was built in the 17nth century by danish noblemen on the old estate of Norwegian noble Galte fa ...

, and in 1865, the church was sold to the parish. In 1874, the church was no longer able to fit the congregation and a new, larger church was needed. A new church was built about to the northeast in the village of

, and it was renamed ''Husnes Church''. The lead builder was Askjell Aase and the church was designed by J. Utne. The new church 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 11 September 1874 and the old church was sold soon after. The old church was used by the new owner as a farm building until around 1900 when it was torn down. In 1960, the church was renovated by the architects

Torgeir Alvsaker Torgeir Alvsaker (1875—1971) was a Norwegian architect. Alvsaker was born 9 February 1875 on the Alvsaker farm in Kinsarvik (municipality), Kinsarvik, Norway. He attended the Bergen Technical School and graduated in 1898. He then became an ...

and

Einar Vaardal-Lunde Einar Vaardal-Lunde (1915–2003) was a Norwegian architect. Vaardal-Lunde was educated at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, graduating in 1940. After World War II, he participated in the rebuilding efforts and reconstruction in Finnmar ...

. This included new floors, interior decor, and the re-installation of the old

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

from the old Kaldestad Church. In 1974, the church was enlarged by architect Peter Helland-Hansen. The

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 ...

and

sacristies 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 ...

were opened up so that they became part of the nave. A new choir was built to the east of the nave and a new, large sacristy was built on the south side of the new choir. After the addition, the length of the wide nave had increased from to .

References

{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Kvinnherad Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1874 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References