Støren Church ( no, Støren 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 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 ...

Midtre Gauldal Midtre Gauldal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren. Other villages in the municipality include Singsås, Soknedal, Enodden, an ...

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 Denmar ...

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 village of

Støren is the administrative centre of Midtre Gauldal municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located in the Gauldalen valley at the confluence of the rivers Gaula and ''Sokna''. Støren is located on the European route E06 highway ...

. It is the church for the Støren

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

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 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 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 Herborg ...

. The red, 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, whi ...

design in 1817 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 ...

Svend Aspaas Svend Halvorsen Aspaas (1736–January 1816) was a Norwegian architect and builder who is known for several of the churches he built. He was also a master builder for the Røros copperworks. He is credited as having invented and built a type o ...

and Lars Forseth. The church seats about 400 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1432, but the church was not new that year. The first church in Støren was likely 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 built in the 12th century. It was originally located about to the north of the present church site, on the other side of the river

Sokna Sokna is a small village located between Hønefoss and Krøderen in the municipality of Ringerike, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. Its population is 543. Location Sokna is located in the valley of Soknedalen, between the Sogna and Ver ...

, just west of the confluence of the rivers Sokna and Gaula. In 1665, a new church was built about south of the old church. When the new church was completed, the old church was torn down. The main reason for moving the church was the river which had sometimes flooded as well as the erosion of the river banks, making the church too close to the river's edge and too risky for flood damage. The new church site was chosen because it is higher and further from the riverbank. (By 1775, it was noted that the river was flowing on top of the site of the old church due to natural movement of the river channel.) The church from 1665 had a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

design with a tall spire above the centre of the church. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church ( no, valgkirke) is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national election ...

( 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 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 ...

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 Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information E ...

later that year. By 1815, the old building was found to be so dilapidated that it had to be demolished. A new

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 wooden ...

church with an

floor plan was completed and

consecrate 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 ...

d in 1817. The new church was designed using plans drawn up by the

, however he died in 1816, so Lars Forseth was hired to lead the work using Aspaas' plans. Aspaas was also involved in the construction of the nearby

Røros Church Røros Church or Bergstadens Ziir ( no, Røros kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Røros municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. Located in the town of Røros, it is the main church for the Røros parish which is part of the ...

and

Sør-Fron Church Sør-Fron Church ( no, Sør-Fron kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sør-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hundorp. It is the church for the Sør-Fron parish which is part of the Sø ...

which are both similar in design to this church.

Media gallery

Støren kirke.jpg Støren kyrkje 01.jpg Støren kyrkje.JPG

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storen Church Midtre Gauldal Churches in Trøndelag Octagonal churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1817 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References