Onarheim Church ( no, Onarheim 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 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 ...

Tysnes Municipality Tysnes () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other population centres in Tysnes include the villages of Våge and Onarhei ...

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 t ...

. It is located in the village of

Onarheim Onarheim is a village in Tysnes municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southeastern shores of the island of Tysnesøya, along the Hardangerfjorden The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest ...

on the southeastern side of the island of Tysnesøya. It is the church for the Onarheim

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

Sunnhordland prosti Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...

(

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 Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

. The white, wooden 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 1893 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 ...

Karl Askeland from

Radøy Radøy is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district of the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new municipality of Alver in Vestland county. The mun ...

. The church seats about 500 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1327, but the church was not new that year. The first church at Onarheim was a stone church that was probably built in the late 1100s. The church had a rectangular (nearly square)

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 ...

that measured about and a narrower, rectangular

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 ...

. At some point before 1686, the old stone

was torn down and replaced with a new wooden chancel on the same location. The church was sold into private ownership in 1723. In 1819–1820, the church was in disrepair, so it was completely renovated and rebuilt. The entire stone

was demolished and rebuilt and the choir was heavily renovated. In 1862, the municipality of

Tysnes Tysnes () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other population centres in Tysnes include the villages of Våge and Onarhei ...

bought back the church from private ownership. As the population of the parish increased, the church eventually became too small, so in 1893, the whole church was torn down and a new wooden

was built on the same site. The new church was

consecrate Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

d on 7 July 1893 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 ca ...

Fredrik Waldemar Hvoslef Waldemar Hvoslef (17 March 1825 – 5 May 1906) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop. Fredrik Waldemar Hvoslef was born in Christiania (now Oslo) and grew up in Holmestrand in Vestfold. He was the son of Jens Hvoslef (1783–1830) who served as Magis ...

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Tysnes Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1893 12th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References