Tveit Church ( no, Tveit 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 ...

Kristiansand Municipality Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

in Agder 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 on the banks of the Tovdalselva, just outside the village of Ryen in the district of

Tveit Tveit is a village and surrounding district in Oddernes borough in the city of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The Tveit district is located in the northeastern part of Kristiansand, northeast of the Topdalsfjorden along the lower part of t ...

in the borough of

Oddernes Oddernes is a borough in the city of Kristiansand which lies in the municipality of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The borough covers eastern Kristiansand on the east side of the Topdalsfjorden and the Varodd Bridge. The borough include ...

in the northeastern part of the city of Kristiansand. It is the church for the Tveit

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 Kristiansand domprosti (arch-

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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth larges ...

. The white, stone church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For instance under Urnes Stave C ...

design around the year 1150 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 350 people. The church is surrounded by a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

. The historic structure is protected by law.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1379, but the church was likely built between the years 1050 and 1070. It is possible that there was a wooden stave church on the site prior to the construction of the stone building. The Romanesque stone church originally had a rectangular shape. The baptismal font in sandstone dated from 1250 to 1350. The

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

figure is believed to have been made in the 13th century. The baroque altarpiece is dated to around the year 1650. In 1814, this church served as an election church ( 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 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. Over the years there have been several additions to enlarge the church. In 1827, a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

was built on the north side of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

. In 1831, the main entrance with a tower was added and the old entry porch was incorporated into 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 ...

. In 1867, a wooden addition to the west was added to enlarge the

even more and provide a new entry porch.

Media gallery

Kristiansand, Tveit kirke fra nord.JPG, Exterior view Kristiansand, Tveit kirke fra nordøst.JPG, Side view Tveit Kirke IMG 2613.jpg, Entrance to the church Kristiansand, Tveit kirke, inngang til koret, syd.JPG, Entrance to the choir Tveit kirke (Kristiansand), Font.jpg, Baptismal font Kristiansand, Tveit kirke, inngang til koret, syd.JPG, Side door Tveit kirke, Vest-Agder - Riksantikvaren-T202 01 0495.jpg, View in 1900 Tveit Prestegaard IMG 2616.jpg, Parsonage

References

External links

Tveit Kirke website

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Churches in Kristiansand Stone churches in Norway 11th-century churches in Norway 11th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References

External links