Vatne Church ( no, Vatne kyrkje) is a parish church 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 ...

in the village of Vatne, Ålesund Municipality,

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

county, Norway. It is the church for the Vatne parish, which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti (

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 Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...

. 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 1868 using plans drawn up by architect Fritz Meinhardt, with some input from architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 550 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1432, but it was not a new church at that time. The old wooden stave church was located on the eastern side of the lake Vatnevatnet, about to the east of the present site of the church. It may have been first constructed in the 14th century. At some point during the 1500s or 1600s, the original

design was enlarged by adding a timber-framed transept to create a cruciform design. At the same time, the old choir was torn down and a new timber-framed choir was built in its place. By the 1760s, the old church was in need of replacement. It was decided that new church would be constructed on a site to the west of the old church, on the other side of the lake. The new location at Osgota would be a better, more convenient location for the residents of the parish. In 1760–1761, the old church was torn down at the old site and the new church was built, likely reusing materials from the old building. The new church was a timber-framed cruciform design. The new building was

consecrated 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 ...

on 28 June 1761. By the 1860s, the church had become too small for the parish. In 1868, the old church was torn down and a new church was constructed on the same site. The new church was a wooden

that was based on the design of the nearby

Skodje Church Skodje Church ( no, Skodje kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Skodje. It is the church for the Skodje parish which is part of the Nordr ...

. The church was designed by the architect Fritz Meinhardt. It happens that Jacob Wilhelm Nordan is also mentioned in connection with the church construction, which likely means that Nordan corrected some of Meinhardt's drawings. The lead builder for the project was Gustav Olsen. From the outside, the church can look like a cruciform church with very short cross arms, but it is set up as a long church on the inside. The new building was

on 13 December 1868.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=August 2021 Buildings and structures in Ålesund Churches in Møre og Romsdal Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1868 14th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References