Sandøy Church ( no, Sandøy 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

Ålesund Municipality Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, County, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centr ...

in Møre og Romsdal 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 small island of Sandøya. It is one of the two churches for the Sandøy

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

Nordre Sunnmøre prosti ''Nordre'' (Northern), formerly known as ''Haramsnytt'' (The Haram News), is a local Norwegian newspaper covering events in the northern part of the municipality of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county. History The newspaper was established as ''Ha ...

( deanery) in the

Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...

. The white, wooden church was built in an

octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...

design in 1812 using plans drawn up by an unknown

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 ...

. The church seats about 250 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1589, but it was an old, dilapidated building by that time. At that time, it was located on the eastern coast of the island of Sandøya and originally the church was an

annex chapel A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...

to the main Aukra Church in the Aukra

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a di ...

. Since this annex church was built on a rocky island, there was no graveyard surrounding the church. Parishioners had to travel to Aukra Church to bury their dead. During the 1600s, the church fell into disuse due to its poor condition, with residents using the churches on the neighboring islands of

Harøya Harøya is a swampy island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. At , it is the largest island in the municipality. The island is located between the islands of Finnøya (to the northeast) and Fjørtofta (to the southwest ...

and

Ona Ona or ONA may refer to: Anthropology * Ona people, an indigenous people of southern Argentina and Chile ** Ona language, a language once spoken in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego * Ona, a pre-Aksumite culture in Sembel, Eritrea Geography * On ...

. In 1670, the church on Ona was damaged in a storm and then in 1708, the church in Ona was torn down and rebuilt on Sandøy, since the church there had long since been abandoned. The "new" Sandøy Church was in the same location where the historic building had once stood. In 1812, both the Sandøy Church and

Harøy Church Harøy Church ( no, Harøy kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the central part of the island of Harøya, just north of the Lomstjønna Nature Reserve ...

were in poor condition, so they both were torn down. To replace them, a single new church was constructed on the opposite side of the island of Sandøya (closer to Harøya island), about northwest of the former location. The new church was a timber-framed

building. This new building was built on better ground, so it was able to have a graveyard around the church. The new church was consecrated on 20 September 1812.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandoy Church Buildings and structures in Ålesund Churches in Møre og Romsdal Wooden churches in Norway Octagonal churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1812 14th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References