Nord-Vågsøy Church ( no, Nord-Vågsøy kyrkje; historically: Vågsøy Church or Vågsøy Chapel) 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

Kinn Municipality Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality of ...

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

Raudeberg Raudeberg is a village in Kinn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the east side of the island of Vågsøy. The villages of Refvika, Vedvika, and Langeneset are located a few kilometers to the north, and the town of Målø ...

on the northeastern coast of the island of Vågsøy. It is the church for the Nord-Vågsøy

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 Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the mun ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, concrete church was built in a long church style in 1960 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 ...

Ole Halvorsen. The church seats about 420 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1599, but it was likely built in 1580. Originally, it was called Vågsøy Chapel (). The island of

Vågsøy Vågsøy is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality's administrative center was the town Måløy. Other population centers in Vågsøy included ...

was historically part of the

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a di ...

(parish) of

Selje Selje (municipality) was a municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway and was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The village of Selje was the administrative center this municipality. On 1 January 2020 the municipalit ...

. In 1580, a small chapel was built on the island of Vågsøy, just south of

on the ''Kapelneset'' peninsula, along the eastern shore of the island, about south of the present site of the church. The chapel was served by the priest from

Selje Church Selje Church ( no, Selje kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Stad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Selje. It is the church for the Selje parish which is part of the Nordfjord prosti ( de ...

approximately once each month. The chapel was a small wooden building in a long church design. The

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 ...

measured about and it had a

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 sp ...

on the east end of the nave that measured about . The main doors to the church were on far west end of the north side of the church. The church initially had a

sod roof A sod roof, or turf roof, is a traditional Scandinavian type of green roof covered with sod on top of several layers of birch bark on gently sloping wooden roof boards. Until the late 19th century, it was the most common roof on rural log house ...

. In 1643, the county governor, Collett, described it as ("Vaagsø Chapel looks like an ordinary ugly barn."). In 1847, the local parish priest, Koren, proposed a new church at Raudeberg. The last

worship service A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sa ...

in the chapel was on 16 May 1853. After this, the building was sold to the merchant Ole Smidt from

Måløy Måløy () is a town in the municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. Måløy is located on the southeastern side of the island of Vågsøy, about northeast of the village of Holvika and about south of the village of Raudeberg. The M� ...

. In 1854, a larger church was built in the village of Raudeberg, about to the north using plans by the architect Hans Linstow. The new church was called Vågsøy Church () until 1907 when a new church was built in Måløy. This church was then renamed ''Nord-Vågsøy'' (North-Vågsøy) and the other church was named ''

Sør-Vågsøy Sør-Vågsøy is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1910 until 1964 and it encompassed the southern part of the island of Vågsøy and a small area on the mainland just east of the ...

'' (South-Vågsøy) church. The new church was in use until it burned down in 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war, there was much to rebuild all over Norway, and so this church was not rebuilt until 1960. The new church was consecrated on 24 October 1960 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 ...

Ragnvald Indrebø Ragnvald Andreas Indrebø (22 November 1891–26 June 1984) was a Norwegian Lutheran Bishop. He was born in Os. He was part of the movement to translate the Norwegian Bible into the Nynorsk written language during the 1930s. He edited the per ...

. The new church is constructed out of concrete. It sits on the side of a hill, so it has a partial basement underneath which includes utility rooms, a kitchen, meeting rooms, bathrooms, and storage. The church cost to construct.

Media gallery

Nord-Vaagsoey kyrkje (01).jpg, View of the present church Nord-Vaagsoey kyrkje (03).jpg, View of the present church Kapellneset kirkested fra RA.jpg, Site of the church prior to 1854

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nord-Vaagsoy Church Kinn Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Concrete churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1960 1580 establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References