Rugsund Church ( no, Rugsund 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

Bremanger Municipality Bremanger is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village of Svelgen is the administrative centre of the municipality. Other villages include Bremanger, Berle, Davik, Isane, Kalvåg, Svelgen, Rugsund, and Ålfoten. Bremanger i ...

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 on the Hessevågen farm on the mainland side of the village of

Rugsund Rugsund is a village in Bremanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland along the shore of the Nordfjorden. The village is home to Rugsund Church, the local church for this part of the municipality. Ther ...

, on the southern coast of the Nordfjorden. It is the church for the Rugsund

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 style in 1838 using plans 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 400 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1330, but the church was not new that year. The first church in Rugsund was originally located on the island of Rugsundøya. It 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 in the 13th century. This medieval church was in use until 1650 when it was torn down and replaced. The new church was a small,

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. This church burned down on 5 March 1834 after being struck by lightning. After the fire, the parish debated where to built the replacement church. The reason for the debate was that there was such a shallow layer of

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

at the old church site that it was difficult to maintain the church cemetery there on Rugsundøya. The soil conditions were actually so bad that funeral parties transported masses of soil by boat to the graveyard to cover the coffins with. Because of this, it was decided to built a new

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

and church across the small strait on the mainland in the village of

. The present church building was constructed in 1838 to replace the previous building on Rugsundøya that had burned down. The beautiful location of the previous church on the point above the harbour was a navigational landmark for

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s. When the present church was to be built, people demanded a similarly beautiful location. The new church was built by the builders Strømme and Strømsheim from

Sykkylven Sykkylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages in the municipality include Ikornnes, Straumgjerde, and Tusvik. The municipa ...

. The church was consecrated on 2 September 1838. At Rugsund, the church was centrally located with the main entrance facing the sea, and with an excellent view from the church steps across the

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...

to the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

. The churchyard encircles the church, and furthest down to the sea, there is a stately gate that the seafarers in earlier times walked through on their way to church. This was also the place where the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

went ashore when he came by boat from Davik. By the turn of the 20th century, the church was deemed to be too small. The church building was remodeled in 1911–1912. During this renovation, the tower was rebuilt, a new

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 ...

was built along with a sacristy. New windows were also installed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugsund Church Bremanger Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1838 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References