Kvamsøy Church ( no, Kvamsøy kyrkje) is a historic

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 ...

Sogndal Municipality Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

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 on the small island of Kvamsøy. It was the church for the old Kvamsøy

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 now part of the

Sogn prosti Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway ''(Vestlandet)''. It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

(

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, stone church was built in a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

design between the years 1280 and 1300. The church seats about 210 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1330, but it was not new that year. The stone

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 ...

was likely built between 1280 and 1300 by an unknown architect. The church sat on the small island of Kvamsøy which lies about off the mainland shore. The main body of the church measures . The stone walls generally measure about thick. The current tower on the church was built around the year 1715. This was the church for the parish of Kvamsøy until it was replaced in 1903 by the newly built

Sæle Church Sæle Church ( no, Sæle kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sogndal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Sæle, on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden. It is one of two churches for the B ...

on the mainland. Since the new church was built, Kvamsøy Church was taken out of regular use and it is used mostly as a museum. The parish continues to use the church for special events and it holds two services there each year: one in May and one on

Olsok Olsok ("Olaf's Wake" or "Olaf's Vigil") is a national day of celebration on July 29 in the Nordic countries of Norway and the Faroe Islands, and also in the provinces of Härjedalen in Sweden and Savonlinna in Finland. Background King Olaf II H ...

. Other special services such as funerals and weddings can be held there when requested. There is no electric heating in the church, so it is not used at all from October until May. The church is a protected historical site.

Media gallery

Kvamsøy kyrkje benker.JPG, Interior view Kvamsøy kyrkje alter2.JPG, View of the altar Kvamsøy kyrkje vind.JPG, View of a window (and the 1.34 metre-thick walls) Kvamsøy kyrkje døpefont.JPG, The church seats Kvamsøy kyrkje dåpsfat.JPG, Baptismal bowl

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvamsoy Church Sogndal Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 13th-century churches in Norway Churches completed in 1280 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References