Nesna Church ( no, Nesna 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 in Nesna Municipality in Nordland 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

Nesna Nesna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Nesna. Other villages in Nesna include Handnesneset, Husby, Saura, and Vi ...

. It is the main church for the Nesna

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 Nord-Helgeland prosti ( deanery) in the

Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the seat of the ...

. The white,

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, wooden church was built in an octagonal cruciform style in 1880 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 ...

Niels Stockfleth Darre Eckhoff Niels Stockfleth Darre Eckhoff (5 January 1831 – 26 September 1914) was a Norwegian architect. He was born in Throndhjem as the son of Christian Martin Eckhoff and his wife Nicoline Johanne Luytkis. He married Nicoline Otilie Eckhoff in Jul ...

. The church seats about 480 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church altarpiece is dated from the 1470s, so the church likely was founded around that time. The first church at Nesna was built about north of the present site of the church building. In 1666, the church inspection said that the building was in need of major repairs which were likely carried out soon afterwards. In 1750, the church was described as very neglected. In 1767, the old church was torn down and a new church was constructed on the same site. It was 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 woode ...

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

building that was painted red on the exterior. 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 t ...

which wrote the Constitution of Norway. 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 ...

later that year. By 1880, the congregation had outgrown the small church, so a new church was built about south of the old church. After the new church was completed, the old church was torn down and the materials were sold. The new church was consecrated on 17 September 1880. This new building was also a cruciform shape, but slightly modified. The inner corners of the cruciform design were cut off, forming more of an octagonal central area.

Media gallery

08 Nesna church (5664843958).jpg, Church of Nesna 05.jpg, Church of Nesna 06.JPG, Nesna kirke 012.jpg, Nesna kirke GM 002 Ekst.jpg, Church of Nesna 07.JPG, Nesna kirke GM 005 alter.jpg, Nesna kirke GM 006 altertavle.jpg, Nesna kirke GM 007 sidealter gammelorgel.jpg, Nesna kirke GM 010 fra orgelgalleri.jpg, Nesna kirke GM 011 fra orgelgalleri.jpg,

References

{{use dmy dates, date=April 2021 Nesna Churches in Nordland Wooden churches in Norway Cruciform churches in Norway Octagonal churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1880 15th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References