Kåfjord Church (Finnmark)
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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
Alta Municipality ( se, Áltá ; fkv, Alattio; fi, Alattio) is the most populated municipality in Finnmark in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alta. Some of the main villages in the municipality in ...
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 Kåfjord. It is an annex church for the Alta
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 Alta 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 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 1837 using plans drawn up by an unknown
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 ...
, making it the oldest surviving church building in Alta. The church seats about 300 people.


History

left, View of the church from a distance The local Kåfjord copperworks, which was established in Kåfjord in 1826, grew to become the largest industrial company at the time north of the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
. The church was built in 1837 to serve the growing community. The architect is unknown, but the church has many similarities to the standardized church drawings by the national architect
Hans Linstow Hans Ditlev Franciscus (Frants) von Linstow (4 May 1787 – 10 June 1851) was a Danish/Norwegian architect who designed the Royal Palace in Oslo and much of the surrounding park and the street ''Karl Johans gate''. Background Hans Ditlev Franc ...
, so it could have been based on those. Other sources say that it may have been Stephen Henry Thomas. The building was
consecrate 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 ...
d on 10 September 1837 by the Bishop
Peder Kjerschow Peder Kjerschow (5 June 1857 – 10 December 1944) was a Norwegian judge. He was born in Tromsøe, as a son of Christian Collett Kjerschow and grandson of Peder Christian Hersleb Kjerschow. Through marriage he was a nephew of Jacob Andreas Miche ...
. During the 1930s, the church was renovated and restored. In 1967, there was a fire in the chimney for the wood stove in the church, so the church was temporarily closed. An extensive renovation and repair work was carried out from 1968-1970. As part of this restoration, the church received a new organ in 1970.


See also

*
List of churches in Nord-Hålogaland This list of churches in Nord-Hålogaland is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland which includes all of Troms og Finnmark county in Norway. The diocese is based at the Tromsø Cathedral in the city of Troms ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaafjord Church (Finnmark) Alta, Norway Churches in Finnmark Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1837 1837 establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway