Kvernes Stave Church ( no, Kvernes stavkyrkje) is a 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 ...

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 ...

. The old church sits along the

Kvernesfjorden Kvernesfjorden or Kvernesfjord is a fjord between the municipalities of Gjemnes, Kristiansund, Averøy, and Hustadvika in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The fjord is about long. The fjord begins at the end of the Kornstadfjorden near the vill ...

in the village of

Kvernes Kvernes is a village in Averøy Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the east coast of the island of Averøya Averøya is an island in the municipality of Averøy in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located ...

, just to the north of the Kvernes Church, the present church for the parish. The white, wooden church was built in a rectangular

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 ...

style sometime during the first half of the 14th century. The church seats about 200 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1400, but the

was probably built during the early-14th century. The church is a single-

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 ...

church of the "Møre"-type, characterized by central posts in the external wall and crossbeams. The small

measures only and 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 ...

is only , making it one of the smallest stave churches in existence. The church was rebuilt in 1633 and during this renovation the front door was moved from the nave's west side to the south side. Also during this renovation, the old choir was torn down and rebuilt in a

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 ...

construction rather than the historic stave construction. In 1648, the tower on the roof was repaired. From 1661 to 1663, a

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

was constructed. A

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 built around 1689 as well. In 1776, the church was renovated again. In 1810, the tower on the roof was again repaired. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church ( no, valgkirke) is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national election ...

( 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 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 ...

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 1893, the parish built a new Kvernes Church about south of the old

. The stave church was closed after the new 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 ...

in 1893. In 1894, the old building was purchased by a group of individuals who donated it as a gift to

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 ...

. The society has refurbished the building and it is now a museum.

Media gallery

1967KvernesStaveChurch.JPG Averøy Kvernes Stavkirke.JPG, Side view of the church Kvernes stavkyrkje aust.jpg, East end of the church Kvernes Stave Church Altar.jpg, Altar and altarpiece Kvernes Stave Church Alter.jpg, Altar Kvernes Stave Church - Font2.jpg, Baptismal font Kvernes Stavkyrkje, Averøy, South view 20150604 1.jpg Kvernes Stavkyrkje, Averøy, East view 20150604 1.jpg Kvernes Stave Church Putti.jpg Kvernes Stave Church Pulpit.jpg Kvernes stavkirke, Møre og Romsdal - Riksantikvaren-T335 01 0147.jpg

References

External links

Kvernes stave church – Stavkirke.org
{{use dmy dates, date=July 2021 Averøy Churches in Møre og Romsdal Wooden churches in Norway Stave churches in Norway 14th-century establishments in Norway 14th-century churches in Norway Buildings and structures owned by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References

External links