Kåfjord Church ( no, Kåfjord kirke) 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 ...

in Gáivuotna–Kåfjord Municipality in

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

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

Olderdalen Olderdalen ( se, Dálošvággi; fkv, Junttaniemi) is the administrative centre of the municipality of Gáivuotna – Kåfjord – Kaivuono in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Olderdalen is located in the Olderdalen valley along the Kåfjorden ...

. It is the church for the Kåfjord

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 Nord-Troms 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 Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland ( no, Nord-Hålogaland bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms og Finnmark county as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø ...

. The red, 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 1949 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 ...

Kirsten Sand Kirsten Eleonore Helena Sand (27 November 1895 – 12 May 1996) was a Norwegian architect. In 1919, she became the first woman to graduate with full technical competence in architecture from the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH). Until the S ...

. The church seats about 250 people.

History

The first chapel building in Kåfjord was built in 1722 in connection with the

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

mission led by

Thomas von Westen Thomas von Westen (13 September 1682 – 9 April 1727) was a Norwegian Lutheran priest and missionary. He was a driving force in the Sami mission, and founded the education institution ''Seminarium Scholasticum'', the later Seminarium Lapponic ...

. It was known as the ''Finnekapellet''. The chapel was about long and it was used until around the year 1800. After that time, residents would travel to the

Lyngen Church Lyngen Church ( no, Lyngen kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Lyngen Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Lyngseidet. It is the main church for the Lyngen parish which is part of the ...

, about down the fjord. It wasn't until 1949 when Kåfjord its first official church building. Kåfjord Church was built on the initiative of the inhabitants of the village of Olderdalen who collected funds and reused materials to build it. The church was renovated in 1989-1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaafjord Church Churches in Troms Gáivuotna–Kåfjord Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1949 1722 establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway

History

See also

References