Sauda Church ( no, Sauda 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 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 Sauda Municipality in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

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 town of

Sauda Sauda ''()'' is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sauda, where most of the population lives. Other villages in the municipality include Saudasjøen and Amdal. Despite being ...

. It is the main church for the Sauda

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

Ryfylke prosti This list of churches in Rogaland is a list of the Church of Norway churches in Rogaland county, Norway. The churches are all part of the Diocese of Stavanger. The diocese is based at the Stavanger Cathedral in the city of Stavanger. The list ...

(

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 Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Li ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1866 using designs by the famous

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 Hans Ditlev Franciscus (Frants) von Linstow (4 May 1787 – 10 June 1851) was a Danish/Norwegian architect who designed the Royal Palace in Oslo and much of the surrounding park and the street ''Karl Johans gate''. Background Hans Ditlev Franc ...

. The church seats about 350 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1467, but the church was not new that year. The first church was a

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 a ...

that was located in the village of

Saudasjøen Saudasjøen is a village in Sauda municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located along the northern coast of the Saudafjorden about southwest of the town of Sauda. For statistical purposes it is considered a part of the urban a ...

. In 1624, a new tower was added to the old church building. In the mid-1700s, the old church was in need of a renovation, so the old

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 ...

was torn down and rebuilt. In 1806, the church was again renovated. This time, the whole building except for the choir was torn down and rebuilt. After the renovation, nothing was left of the original medieval stave church. In 1864, the parish decided to move the church site to the larger village of

, about to the northeast. The new church was completed in 1866 and it was consecrated on 26 September 1866 by the parish priest P. R. Hoffgaard on behalf of 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 ...

Jacob von der Lippe Jacob von der Lippe (27 September 1797–2 October 1878) was a Norwegian politician and priest who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Christianssand from 1841 to 1875. He was also a member of the Parliament of Norway for a total of eight ...

. The old church was closed after the new church was completed and then in 1868, the old church was torn down and its materials were sold to some farms in

Finnøy Finnøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Stavanger Municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The a ...

. The land where the old church once stood remains as a graveyard.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2020 Sauda Churches in Rogaland Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1866 14th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References