Nora Unitarian Universalist Church, originally called Nora Free Christian Church, is a historic church in

Hanska, Minnesota Hanska is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 402 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History A post office called Hanska has been in operation since 1890. Hanska was platted in ...

, United States. The congregation was formed by a number of Brown County citizens who dissented from the Norwegian Lutheran community. They found

Kristofer Janson Kristofer Nagel Janson (May 4, 1841 – November 17, 1917) was a Norwegian poet, author and Unitarian clergyman. Kristofer Janson is commonly recognized as the founder of the Norwegian Unitarian Church. Background Kristofer Janson was born in Be ...

, who also had some dissenting opinions from the Lutheran

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 ...

and who was visiting the Midwest on a lecture tour. Janson had previously founded the Free Christian Church of Minneapolis, later known as the Nazareth Church. The organizers of the church in Hanska asked Janson to be their minister, and he came to the area and established the church in January 1882. By the fall of 1882, the congregation had raised enough money to build a church. It was built the next spring and hosted its first service on July 8, 1883. The next week's service on July 15 would be the last, because the building was demolished by a tornado on July 21. Some critics said it was God's punishment for a group of dissenters. MuseumNoraChurchMN

The church was rebuilt later in 1883, and it was dedicated on July 13, 1884. Janson spent his summers at the church in Hanska and spent his winters in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and he called the Nora church a refuge from city life and a "paradise". Janson returned to Norway in 1893 and continued his ministry there, but he continued to correspond with his former congregation until he died in 1917. The successor pastor, Amandus Norman, served until 1931, and the church has continued to grow and flourish since then. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

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* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Brown County, Minnesota Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Queen Anne architecture in Minnesota Churches completed in 1883 Norwegian-American culture in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Brown County, Minnesota