Ramnes Church ( no, Ramnes kirke) is a 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 Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the village of

Ramnes Ramnes is a village in Tønsberg municipality, and former municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The village of Ramnes was the administrative centre of the municipality. Summary The parish of ''Ramnæs'' was established as a muni ...

. It is the church for the Ramnes parish which is part of the

Tønsberg domprosti This list of churches in Tunsberg is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Tunsberg in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Buskerud and Vestfold counties. The diocese is based at the Tønsberg Cathedral in the city of T� ...

(

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 Tunsberg. 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 ...

design around the year 1150 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 234 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1363, but the church was not built that year. The first church in Ramnes was likely a wooden post church that was built during the 11th century. Around the year 1150, the wooden church was torn down and a new stone church was built on the site. The stone church initially consisted of a nave and chancel. The main entrance ( portal) was on the south wall of the nave and a secondary entrance was on the south wall of the chancel. The walls of the church were made of stone but the gables were timber-framed. Like most medieval stone churches, there were no windows on the north wall. The church was originally dedicated to the Saints Peter and Paul and the building was

consecrated 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 ...

on 7 March (year uncertain). During the early 17th century, the church roof was rebuilt and larger windows were installed. Also during this renovation, the south portal in the nave and the chancel were bricked up and a new entrance to the church on the west end of the nave was constructed. In 1653, another renovation took place. A new church porch and 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. Inside the church a new flat ceiling and second-floor seating galleries were installed along the west and north walls. A new

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

and

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 ...

were installed too. In 1673, the Count of Jarlsberg took over the ownership of the church. 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. In 1895, the church was sold to the congregation and was no longer in private ownership. In the early 20th century, it was obvious that something had to be done about the church since it was in very poor condition. The architect Carl Berner was hired to plan a renovation in 1914. It was not until around 1930, however, that the major restoration was carried out. The artist Domenico Erdmann planned the interior designs for this renovation.

Media gallery

Ramnes kirke RK 85265 IMG 9822.jpg Ramnes kirke RK 85265 IMG 9836.jpg Ramnes kirke RK 85265 IMG 9818.jpg RAMNES KIRKE Ramnesveien Tønsberg, Norway 2021-06-25 Kirkegård gravsteiner flombelyst sommernatt overskyet nattehimmel veibelysning stakittgjerde (Medieval church Cemetery Floodlight Summer night Road lighting picket fence) etc IMG.jpg RAMNES KIRKE Ramnesveien Tønsberg, Norway 2021-06-25 Kirkegård gravsteiner flombelyst sommernatt overskyet nattehimmel (Medieval church Cemetery Floodlight Summer night) etc IMG 6896.jpg Ramnes kirke Norway 2016-12-23 a.jpg RAMNES KIRKE - an10071112081004.jpg Ramnes kirke (Lutheran medieval church) Tønsberg Norway 2023-06 Kirkerommet altertavle koret kirkebenker lysekroner kirkeskip før bisettelse kiste bårebuketter osv (Interior before funeral coffin altar etc) IMG 6646.jpg Ramnes kirke Medieval Lutheran Church Tønsberg kommune Norway Prekestol utskjæringer 1665 Pulpit interior 03.jpg Ramnes kirke Medieval Lutheran Church Tønsberg kommune Norway Prekestol utskjæringer 1665 Pulpit interior 01.jpg A-01669b Ramnes Kirke.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=February 2024 Tønsberg Churches in Vestfold Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 12th-century churches in Norway 11th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References