Ullensvang Church ( no, Ullensvang 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

Ullensvang Municipality Ullensvang is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre is the town of Odda. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Lofthus, Utne, Vikebygd, ...

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 village of Lofthus. It is the church for the Ullensvang

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 Hardanger og Voss prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The large stone church was built in a long church design around the year 1250 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 was built in the 13th century and has been remodeled and expanded several times over the centuries.

Colloquially Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversa ...

, the church is known as the (lit. ''Hardanger Dome'') due to its size, history, and central location in the

Hardanger Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is ...

region of the county.

History

The area of Ullensvang is named after the old pagan god Ullin. Ullensvang is thus an old name. It is reasonable to surmise that Ullensvang was a religious gathering place before the time of

Christianity in Norway Christianity is the largest religion in Norway. Norway has historically been called a ''Christian country''. A majority of the population are members of the Church of Norway with 68.7% of the population officially belonging to the Evangelical ...

. When

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

came to the area, it is likely that a church was built here where the old temple had stood. The earliest existing historical records of Ullensvang Church date back to the year 1309, but it was not new that year. It is likely that the stone church was built during the 13th century. Legend has it that the church was built by people from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Originally, the church had a rectangular

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 narrower, rectangular

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. Ov ...

and no tower. 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 t ...

which wrote the Constitution of Norway. 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 ...

later that year. Between 1883 and 1885 during an expansion and renovation led by the

Christian Christie Eilert Christian Brodtkorb Christie (24 December 1832 – 13 September 1906) was a Norwegian architect. Personal life He was born in Bergen as a son of customs officer Werner Hosewinckel Christie (1785–1872) and Hansine Langsted (1802–1864) ...

. During the renovation, the

was extended to the west by one-third of its size and a new tower was built. A sacristy, office, and stairwell were also built on the north and south sides of the church. In 1958, the church was restored by the

Arnstein Arneberg Arnstein Rynning Arneberg (6 July 1882 – 9 June 1961) was a Norwegian architect. He was active professionally for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. Personal life Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was b ...

. Much of the

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 ...

interior from the 1870s was then taken away and the interior redecorated as it was during the 17th century. Also, the walls were repainted and the nave ceiling was vaulted.

Media gallery

Norge fremstillet i Tegninger - no-nb digibok 2008112511001-59.jpg, Old drawing of the church Ullensvang kyrkje portal Wilse.jpeg, Main entrance to the church Ullensvangkirke1.JPG, Interior of the church (looking towards the back) Ullensvangkirke2.JPG, Interior of the church (looking towards the front) Ullensvang - no-nb digifoto 20150121 00116 NB MIT FNR 19561.jpg, Exterior rear view (bef. 1960) Ullensvang Kirke. - no-nb digifoto 20150226 00059 NB MIT FNR 00101.jpg, Side exterior view (c. 1950)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Ullensvang Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 13th-century churches in Norway Churches completed in 1250 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church

History

Media gallery

See also

References