Old Søgne Church ( no, Søgne gamle kirke) is a historic parish church 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 ...

in Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the southeastern part of the village of Tangvall. It was once the main church for the Søgne parish which is now part of the Kristiansand domprosti (arch-

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 Agder og Telemark. The white, timber-framed 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 ...

design in 1640 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 270 people. The "new" Søgne Church was built about to the northwest of this location in 1861 to replace this (smaller) church. Since that time, this church is no longer regularly used, but it is available for special occasions such as baptisms and weddings.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1344, but the church was not new at that time (it was likely founded in the 13th century). In 1604, the parish of Søgne was established when it was separated from the main

Oddernes Church Oddernes Church ( no, Oddernes kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the district of Lund in the borough of Lund in the city of Kristiansand. It is one of the ...

parish. The old medieval stave church in Søgne was torn down in the 1630s and a new church was completed on the same site around 1640. It was a

with a rectangular, timber-framed nave and on the east end was a narrower chancel with a lower roof line that was constructed out of lumber. Some parts of the old stave church were re-used in the new church, including 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 ...

. In 1743, a new

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

was built on the north side of the building. In 1760, a new tower on the west end was constructed. In 1814, this church served as an election church ( 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 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 later that year. The walls and ceilings of the interior are covered with painted

rosemåling Rose-painting, , or is a Scandinavian decorative folk painting that flourished from the 1700s to the mid-19th century, particularly in Norway. In Sweden, rose-painting began to be called , c. 1901, for the region where it had been most popular ...

decorations of vines and figures from the 17th and 18th centuries and later. The decorations were repainted in the 19th century, first with blue-gray in 1833, and then with white around 1860. In connection with the restoration of the church from 1953 to 1957, the remains of the original decor were restored by curator Finn Krafft.

Media gallery

Soegne IMG 3631 sögne gml krk rk 85037.JPG, Front view of the church Sögne 06 søgne gml kirke 85037.jpg, Rear view of the church Sögne 02 søgne gml kirke 85037.jpg, Altar in the church Sögne 08 søgne gml kirke 85037.jpg, Interior, back of the church Sögne 09 søgne gml kirke 85037.jpg, Interior, looking to the front Sögne Old Church 85037 Apostles 17.jpg, Interior artwork Søgne gamle kirke.jpg, Historic view of the exterior Søgne gamle kirke - no-nb digifoto 20160606 00005 bldsa BB 2562.jpg, Historic view of the interior Soegne IMG 3633 sögne gml krk rk 85037.JPG, Stone marker commemorating the Søgne representative at the Eidsvold Constitutional Convention in 1814

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Sogne Church Churches in Kristiansand Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1640 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References