Midtgulen Church ( no, Midtgulen 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 in

Bremanger Municipality Bremanger is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village of Svelgen is the administrative centre of the municipality. Other villages include Bremanger, Berle, Davik, Isane, Kalvåg, Svelgen, Rugsund, and Ålfoten. Bremanger i ...

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 the ...

. It is located in the village of Midtgulen, along the shore of the Gulen fjord. It is one of the two churches for the Midtgulen

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 o ...

which is part of the Nordfjord prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1904 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 ...

Lars Sølvberg from Utvik. The church seats about 180 people.

History

The old municipality of Bremanger comprised some areas around the Gulen fjord, while the majority of people lived on the island of

Bremangerlandet Bremangerlandet is an island in Bremanger Municipality in the traditional district of Nordfjord in Vestland county, Norway. The island is one of the largest islands in the county. The highest point on the island is the tall mountain Svartevasse ...

where the parish church was located. The local people of Midtgulen had long thought about the idea of having a church near them, but the issue was more of a wish rather than a demand, and they discussed the matter more among themselves than with the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

. The first vicar in the parish, Ulrik Koren, was not particularly enthusiastic about building a church at Mudtgulen, as this would mean that he would have to cross the

Frøysjøen Frøysjøen is a fjord (or more accurately, a strait) in Bremanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord is about long and between wide. The fjord runs on a northeast–southwest axis between the mainland of Norway (on the east) an ...

strait by boat in all kinds of weather. The vicar on his part took no initiative to build more churches in the parish. In the 1860s, a new church was built on the island of Frøya, moving the parish church to a more central location. When the people of Gulen got an auxiliary

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in 1879, this was a step closer to getting their own church. In the early 1890s, the matter was formally put on the agenda for the local council. There was no discussion whatsoever concerning the location of the new church; it had to be next to the graveyard. Just after 1900, approval was given for a new church site close to the pine forest in the sheltered bay of Hjellvika, right by the cemetery. The church was designed by Lars Sølvberg and the lead builders were Jens and Ola Sølvberg. Various organisations and individuals joined forces to work and give gifts as the church was being built. The Gulen Rifle Club paid for the coloured window panes (which were in use from 1904 until the restoration work in 1954). The local youth organisation donated money for the first organ, and the congregation raised money for the baptismal font, and other objects and furniture. The new building was consecrated on 3 May 1904 by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Johan Willoch Erichsen Johan Willoch Erichsen (15 February 1842 – 22 August 1916) was a Norwegian bishop and theologian in the Church of Norway. He was Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1899 until shortly before his death in 1916. Life and family Erichse ...

References

{{use dmy dates, date=September 2021 Bremanger Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1904 1904 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References