Oppstryn Church ( no, Oppstryn kyrkje) 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 Stryn Municipality in

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 Oppstryn, on the shore of the lake Oppstrynsvatnet. It is the church for the Oppstryn

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 ( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1863 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 ...

Hans Linstow. The church seats about 300 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1308, but the church was not new that year. The first church was a wooden

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ar ...

that was likely built during the 13th century. The first church was located at Nesje, about northwest of the present location of the church. During the winter of 1662–1663, an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

off the nearby mountain pushed part of the church down the hill into the lake Oppstrynsvatnet. Some of the building furniture and structure was found scattered about the village afterwards. The following spring, the remains of the old church were torn down. It was decided that a new church should be built in a less avalanche-prone site. So, the new church was constructed at Fosnes, about to the southeast in the village of Oppstryn. The new building was a

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

long church. It had a long 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

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. In 1863, this church was torn down and replaced with a new church on the same site. The new building was a wooden long church that was designed by Hans Linstow. It had a

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

with a tower on the west end and a choir on the east end of the

. It was consecrated on 1 November 1863 by Rev. Wilhelm Frimann Koren. In 1908, it was discovered that the foundation under the tower base was failing, so a new foundation wall was built under the tower. In 1963, a sacristy was built on the east end of the choir. Also in 1963, a basement under the church was excavated to make room for bathrooms and equipment rooms for the cemetery.

Media gallery

Oppstryn kyrkje.jpg Oppstryn. Norway.jpg Oppstryn kirke.jpg Oppstryn church 2013 06 14 2820.jpg Firdastemnet 1912 at Oppstryn.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=August 2021 Stryn Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1863 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References