Vadsø Church ( no, Vadsø 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 in

Vadsø Municipality Vadsø (; sme, Čáhcesuolu; fkv, Vesisaari) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vadsø, which was the administrative centre of the former Finnmark county. Oth ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...

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 Vadsø. It is the main church for the Vadsø

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 Varanger prosti ( deanery) in the

Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland ( no, Nord-Hålogaland bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms og Finnmark county as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Trom ...

. The gray, concrete church was built in a long church style in 1958 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 ...

Magnus Poulsson. The church seats about 480 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church was not new at that time. The first church was located on the island of Vadsøya, where the main Vadsø settlement was located at that time. It was located about southeast of the present bridge connecting the island to the mainland. In 1693 the church is referred to as "very old and small for the congregation that exists". The building was a 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 ...

with a

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

above 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 ...

. The nave was about long. In the early 1700s, the small town had expanded beyond its site on the island of Vadsøya to also include land on the mainaland. The old church was in need of replacement, so a new church was built in 1709 at Skattøra on the mainland, about north of the old church site on the island. The church was located in what is now the western part of the Vadsø cemetery. It was a

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 woode ...

building with 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 describe ...

ground plan and tower. This new building was consecrated in 1711, around the same time that the old medieval church was torn down. 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. In 1858, work on a new

church was begun at Galgebakken, about to the northwest of the old church. The church was going to be larger than the old church to support the growing town. This new church was completed and consecrated in 1861. After the new church was put into use, the older church was no longer used and in 1869, most of the old church was torn down. The entry porch was retained, however, and it was turned into a small burial chapel that continued to stand at the cemetery. During the night of 28–29 October 1944, the retreating German army burned most of the town of Vadsø including the church. The present church was completed in 1958 to replace the previous church.

Media gallery

Gamle Vadsø kyrkje Wilse.jpeg, View of the old church (1861–1944) Vadso Kirche.jpg, Current church Vadsø kirke i snø.jpg, Current church Vadsø kirke - no-nb digifoto 20150219 00103 NB MIT FNR 19106.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vadso Church Vadsø Churches in Finnmark 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1958 16th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church Long churches in Norway Concrete churches in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References