Uggdal Church ( no, Uggdal 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 ...

Tysnes Municipality Tysnes () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other population centres in Tysnes include the villages of Våge and Onarhei ...

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 t ...

. It is located in the village of

Uggdal Uggdal is the administrative centre of Tysnes municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the west side of the island of Tysnesøya. The village is located in the northern part of the Uggdalsdalen valley, just about fro ...

on the large island of Tysnesøya. It is one of the two churches for the "Reksteren og Uggdal"

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

Sunnhordland prosti Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...

(

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 Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

. The white, wooden 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 in 1876 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 ...

Ole Vangberg. The church seats about 650 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1288, but it wasn't new that year. The first church here was a wooden

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 likely built during the 13th century. Originally, the church was called ''Opdal'' Church until 1933. It was located a few meters to the southwest of the present church site. Not much is known about this building. Around the year 1630, the old church was torn down and 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 ...

was built on the same site. In 1696–1698, major work was done at the church. The work included, among other things, a new tower and roof on the church. Aschild Tebstad and Johannes Rachnes led this renovation. In 1721, the church was damaged in a storm, and again in 1774, the church was heavily damaged by a lightning strike. On 7 October 1874, the parish received permission to construct a new church. The parish used plans by Ole Vangberg for the nearby Os Church for the new church. In 1876, a new church was built immediately to the northeast of the church. After its completion, the old church was torn down. The new church was

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 on 31 May 1876 by 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 ...

Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland (14 January 1807–5 January 1896) was a Norwegian priest in the Church of Norway. He served as Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1864–1880. Early life and family Peter Birkeland was born in the village ...

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Tysnes Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1876 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References