Hustad Church ( no, Hustad kirke) is a preserved former

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 ...

Inderøy Inderøy is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straumen. Other villages include Framverran, Gangstadhaugen, Hylla, Kjerknesvågen, Kjer ...

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 just north of the village of

Gangstadhaugen Gangstadhaugen or Gangstad is a village in the municipality of Inderøy in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the northern part of the Inderøya peninsula, near the shore of the Beitstadfjorden, about southeast of the village of Breivi ...

. It is the former main church for the Sandvollan

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 Stiklestad 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 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 white Romanesque, 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 ...

style around the year 1150. The church seats about 150 people. In 1887, the new

Heggstad Church Heggstad Church ( no, Heggstad kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Inderøy municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located at Sandvollan, just south of the village of Gangstadhaugen. It is the main church for the Sandvo ...

replaced this church. At that time, this church was closed and sold to the

Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments ( no, Fortidsminneforeningen) is an organization focused on conservation preservation in Norway. The Society was founded in 1844. The founders were painters, historians, art historians ...

() to be maintained as a museum. The church is no longer regularly used, but it is used for special occasions.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1533, but the church was not new that year. The church was likely constructed around the year 1160. It is one of the few remaining stone churches from 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 ...

in Norway. Hustad Church was built of quarry stone. The masonry is almost completely preserved. The church has an entry porch on the west end with a tower above it. There is a rectangular

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 ...

and a narrower, rectangular

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

Dendrochronological Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

datings from the church show that the trees used to build the roof structure of the nave was cut down in the years 1162-1163. Based on masonry technique and stylistic features at the portals, it can be concluded that the church was started in the first half of the 12th century and completed around 1163. The two portals to the north and south are arched in Romanesque style. After it was completed, the tower on the west end was constructed, completing that work around the year 1180. Some unique aspects of this small church include the

pew A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview ...

s which are original, and the cemetery which is surrounded by a log joined fence, the only such preserved fence in the traditional region of

. In 1650, the tower was replaced and rebuilt on top of the stone base that is the main entrance to the building. Also that year, a wooden

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 ...

was constructed on the north side of the building. Much of the interior

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style furniture was added to the building during the renovations of 1650. The current

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

is from 1702 and it has the image of the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

. On the

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 ...

is the painted carvings of the

Evangelists Evangelists may refer to: * Evangelists (Christianity), Christians who specialize in evangelism * Four Evangelists, the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament * ''The Evangelists ''The Evangelists'' (''Evangheliştii'' in Roma ...

. The church, like most other Norwegian churches, was sold at the

Norwegian church auction The Norwegian church sale ( no, kirkesalget) was a comprehensive and systematic sale of most of the church properties in Norway during the 1720s. The purpose of this sale was the intention of improving the poor public finances in the Kingdom of Denm ...

in the 1720s so that the King could pay debts from the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. The last private owner sold the church to the people of the parish in 1838. The church was renovated and the interior painted in bright colors soon after that. An increase in the population and the Church Act of 1851, which required that church buildings have room to hold 30% of the people living in the parish, meant that the church was too small. In 1885, permission was granted to build a new church nearby (

). After the new church was put into use, the old church was closed and sold to the

() who maintains the building and runs it as a museum.

Gallery

Hustad kyrkje Inderøy fra nordvest 2.jpg, Exterior view Hustad kyrkje Inderøy fra galleriet.jpg, Nave and choir Hustad kyrkje Inderøy altertavla.jpg, Altar Hustad kyrkje Inderøy prekestol.jpg, Pulpit Hustad kyrkje Inderøy koret.jpg, Choir Hustad kyrkje Inderøy indre dør.jpg, Main entrance Hustad kirke 2016.jpg, Churchyard and cemetery Hustad church inderøy layout.jpg, Layout Hustad kyrkje Nidaros Wilse.jpeg, Exterior view (1927)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2021 Inderøy Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 12th-century churches in Norway 12th-century establishments in Norway Buildings and structures owned by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments

History

Gallery

See also

References