Kornstad Church ( no, Kornstad kyrkje) 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 ...

Averøy Municipality Averøy is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Nordmøre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruhagen. Other villages in the municipality include Bremsnes, Kornstad, Kver ...

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

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

Kornstad Kornstad is a village in Averøy Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the west side of the island of Averøya Averøya is an island in the municipality of Averøy in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It ...

on the western coast of the island of Averøya, along the

Kornstadfjorden Kornstadfjorden or Kornstadfjord is a fjord that runs between Averøy Municipality and Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the Romsdal peninsula and the island of Averøya. The villages of Visn ...

. It is the church for the Kornstad

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 Ytre Nordmøre 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 Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...

. 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 ...

style in 1871 using plans 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 ...

Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 350 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church was not new that year. The first church in Kornstad was a stave church likely from the 14th century. The first church was built on a site about southwest of the present church site. The state archives in Trondheim has a record of a mass held at the church on 17 June 1386. Not much is known about the original church. In 1649, the church was enlarged by adding two

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 ...

transepts to the north and south sides of the

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 ...

to give the building 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 ...

floor plan. In 1761, a new tower was built on the roof and two second floor seating galleries for men were built in the nave. In 1812, new exterior supports were erected around the whole church, as all the walls leaned out towards the cemetery. In 1814, this church served as an election church ( no, valgkirke). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

which wrote the

Constitution of Norway nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , b ...

. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information E ...

later that year. In 1871, a new church was built about to the northeast of the old church. Parts of the new church were constructed in Steinkjer and shipped down to Kornstad. The new church was designed by Jacob Wilhelm Nordan and built by builder Gustav O. Olsen, and it 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 ...

in 1871. Many items from the old church were saved and re-used in the present church including the church bells and the two altar candlesticks.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=July 2021 Averøy Churches in Møre og Romsdal Wooden churches in Norway Long churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1871 14th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

See also

References