Old Gildeskål Church ( no, Gildeskål gamle kirke) is a historic

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 ...

Gildeskål Municipality Gildeskål is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Bodø Region and the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipali ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

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 just north of the village of Inndyr. Before 1881, it was the main church for the Gildeskål

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

Bodø domprosti Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland co ...

(

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 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, stone 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 the 12th century. The church seats about 275 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1432, but the church was likely built around the year 1130,possibly by King Øystein. The medieval stone church originally had a rectangular

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 ...

and a narrower and almost square

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

with a lower roof line. At some point, the east and west gable walls were rebuilt as well as the south wall. Around the year 1710, the church had a large fire. Afterwards, the church was repaired and an addition was added to the south, making the church half-

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 described ...

. All of the interior furniture and decor was destroyed in the fire as well. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

was painted by Gottfried Ezekiel (ca. 1719-1798). He received a commission as a painter in Bergen during 1744 and starting in 1751 he arrived in northern Norway, where he painted a number of church altarpieces. Gottfried Ezekiel also painted the altarpiece that stands today in the new

Gildeskål Church Gildeskål Church ( no, Gildeskål hovedkirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Gildeskål Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of the village of Inndyr. It is the main church for the Gildeskål parish wh ...

. 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 th ...

which wrote the

Constitution of Norway nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , b ...

. 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 E ...

later that year. In 1851, a new law was passed that said that all rural churches had to be able to fit at least 30% of the parish members in the church building. Since this church could only seat about 275 people, it was too small, therefore a new church had to be built for the parish. It was decided that the new church would be built on the same property, about west of the old church. The new

was completed in 1881 and it seated about 750 people. Since that time, the old church was closed and turned into a museum.

Media gallery

Gildeskaal old church 1(Norway).jpg, Exterior view Gildeskål gamle kirke, Nordland - Riksantikvaren-T407 01 0070.jpg, Exterior (c. 1880) Gildeskål Kirkested.jpg, View of the church grounds The altar in Gildeskål old church.jpg, Altar Votive ship in Gildeskål old church.jpg, Ship The pulpit in Gildeskål old church in Gildeskål old church.jpg, Pulpit Eriksensorgelet.jpg, Pipe organ Enclosed pew for the social elite in Gildeskål old church.jpg, Enclosed pew The pews for the parishioners of the lowest social rank in Gildeskål old church.jpg, Pews

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Gildeskaal Church Gildeskål Churches in Nordland Stone churches in Norway 12th-century churches in Norway Churches completed in 1130 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References