Vera Church ( no, Vera 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 ...

Verdal Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Some villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklest ...

municipality in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

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

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarrag ...

. It is one of the churches for the ''Vera og Vuku''

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 Stiklestad 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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. 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 ...

style in 1899 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 75 people.

History

Vera is a remote mountain village in Verdal that has traditionally been part of the

Vuku Church Vuku Church ( no, Vuku kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Verdal municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vuku. It is one of the churches for the ''Vera og Vuku'' parish which is part of the St ...

parish. The village, however, was located about from the Vuku Church, meaning this was historically a very long journey to the church. The village was given a burial ground (auxiliary cemetery) in 1879 so that bodies did not have to be transported such a great distance. The population in the village continued to increase towards the end of the 19th century, and an application was made to build a church building in the village that could also be used as a school building. The municipality rejected the application in the first instance, but the case was taken up again in the 1890s and was eventually approved. For a while there has been talk of building a two-story building with a floor for a school and the church on the other floor. This plan was scrapped and they ended up building a traditional church design were 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 ...

was used for school lessons during the week and a gate that could close off the

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 ...

from the nave during school. The builder at the construction was Ole Andersen Hjelte. Vera Chapel 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 by the bishop on 16 August 1899. In 1998, the school was closed and the chapel was upgraded to being a full parish church (the second church for the parish).

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2021 Churches in Verdal Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1899 1899 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References