Singsås Church ( no, Singsås kirke) 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 Midtre Gauldal municipality in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

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

Singsås Singsås is a village in Midtre Gauldal municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located in the Gauldalen valley, along the river Gaula (Trøndelag), Gaula, about south of the city of Trondheim. The Norwegian County Road 30 an ...

. It is the church for the Singsås

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

Gauldal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros which covers all of Trøndelag county in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each deanery in the diocese. Administra ...

( deanery) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herbor ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

long church style in 1884 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 ...

Johan Digre Johan Peter Digre (1844–1886) was a Norwegian architect and builder. He was the son of Jacob Digre who ran a large construction company in Trondheim. Together with his brother Ludwig, he led his father's carpentry and lumber company in Tro ...

. The church seats about 450 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1533, but the church was likely built around the year 1280. A

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

in the church has been dated to around the year 1280, so it is likely that was when the church was constructed. 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 ar ...

that was located about to the northeast, further up the Gaula river valley. In 1684-1685, the old church was enlarged. A new

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 ...

was built on the west end of the building and the remaining parts of the old building were repurposed. The old nave became the 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 ...

and the old choir became a sacristy. In 1723, the church was sold, along with many other churches in Norway, during the

Norwegian church sale The Norwegian church sale ( no, kirkesalget) was a comprehensive and systematic sale of most of the church properties in Norway during the 1720s. The purpose of this sale was the intention of improving the poor public finances in the Kingdom of Denm ...

to help the King pay off war debts. The church was owned by various private landowners over the years. The private owners did not take great care of the old church and eventually the municipality attempted to purchase the church, but they did not accomplish this until 1880. Soon after, in 1884, a new church was built about to the southwest of the old church site. The new church was designed by

and built by his father,

Jacob Digre Jacob Digre (1811–1891) was a Norwegian architect and builder. Digre's firm was one of the largest construction companies in Northern Norway. He built and designed several monumental buildings in Trondheim including Hjorten, Frimurerlogen, ...

. It was consecrated on 24 October 1884. After the new building was completed, the old church was torn down. The new church was remodeled during the 1950s in several stages using plans by

John Egil Tverdahl John Egil Tverdahl (1890 in Trondheim – 1969) was a Norwegian architect. Tverdahl designed many churches as well as led the restoration of several churches that were located in Nordmøre, Trøndelag, and Nordland in northern Norway. Tverdahl ...

. One of the changes made was that the chancel opening is now arched, but was originally (before the 1950s) it was more

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

in design.

Media gallery

Singsås kirke.jpg, View of the present church (2007) Singsås kirke, Sør-Trøndelag - Riksantikvaren-T360 01 0014.jpg, Older view of the present church Singsås nye stavkirke.jpg, In 2012, "Singsås nye stavkirke" was consecrated at the site of the old church.
Click here to see to a drawing of the old church at Singsås by Gerhard Schøning (circa 1775).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singsaas Church Midtre Gauldal Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1884 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References