Sør-Vågsøy Church ( no, Sør-Vågsøy 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

Kinn Municipality Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality of ...

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 in the town of

Måløy Måløy () is a town in the municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. Måløy is located on the southeastern side of the island of Vågsøy, about northeast of the village of Holvika and about south of the village of Raudeberg. The M� ...

on the southeastern coast of the island of Vågsøy. It is the church for the Sør-Vågsøy

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 Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the mun ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1907 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 ...

Lars Sølvberg. The church seats about 600 people.

History

Historically, the island of Vågsøy was part of the

Selje Church Selje Church ( no, Selje kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Stad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Selje. It is the church for the Selje parish which is part of the Nordfjord prosti ( de ...

parish. In 1900, the Vågsøy area was made into a separate parish with Vågsøy Church serving the whole parish. Soon after, there were demands for a new church to be built in

that would serve the southern part of the island. In 1905, the fairly new parish of Vågsøy was divided into two parishes. Vågsøy Church would be renamed

Nord-Vågsøy Church Nord-Vågsøy Church ( no, Nord-Vågsøy kyrkje; historically: Vågsøy Church or Vågsøy Chapel) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kinn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Raudeberg on the northe ...

and it would serve the northern part of the island and a new ''Sør-Vågsøy Church'' would be built for the southern part of the island. The new church was designed by Lars Sølvberg from

Utvik Utvik is a village in Stryn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Nordfjorden. The village lies about southwest of the village of Innvik and about north of the village of Byrkjelo (in Gl ...

. Construction on the new church began in 1906. On 5 September 1907, Sør-Vågsøy Church was consecrated by Bishop

Johan Willoch Erichsen Johan Willoch Erichsen (15 February 1842 – 22 August 1916) was a Norwegian bishop and theologian in the Church of Norway. He was Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1899 until shortly before his death in 1916. Life and family Erichse ...

. The church is 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 ...

, wooden long church with a

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 ...

on the north end of the

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 ...

with a sacristy on each side of the choir. The

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

is on the south end of the nave and it has a tower above it. The altarpiece was painted in 1907 by artist Sveinung Aanondsen (1854-1919). The church was extensively renovated in 1951–1952. At this time, new stained glass windows were added in the eight large windows in the nave's long walls, electrical heating was added, and a bathroom was built. In 2006, the church porch was enlarged to all a meeting room, cloak room, and bathrooms. On 1 January 2020, the island of Vågsøy became a part of the newly created

(before that, it was part of

Vågsøy Municipality Vågsøy is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality's administrative center was the town Måløy. Other population centers in Vågsøy included ...

Media gallery

Sør Vågsøy kirke 2.jpg, View of the present church Sor vagsoy kirke maloy tunliweb.jpg, View of the present church Soer-Vaagsoey kyrkje Wilse.jpeg, View of the church in 1930 Maaloey med Soer-Vaagsoey kyrkje Wilse.jpeg, View of the church in 1930

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sor-Vaagsoy Church Kinn Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1900 1900 establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References