Vinje Church ( no, Vinje 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 ...

Voss Municipality Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...

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

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Åmot. General inform ...

. It is the church for the Vinje

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

Hardanger og Voss prosti 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 l ...

(

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 1871 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 350 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1329, but the church was not new that year. The first church was most likely 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 built during the 13th century. The church was located in Upper Vinje, about to the northeast of the present site of the church. Around 1670, the old stave church was torn down and 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 wooden ...

was built on the same site. The church had 170 seats and 29 standing places. In 1680, the tower had to be rebuilt, and this time it had a small extension to the north of the base which was used for storage
A photograph of the old church from 1870
exists showing the exterior of that church. In 1867, it was decided to build a new church to replace the old building, but since Oppheim Church was nearby, it was determined that the new Vinje Church would be built further down the valley to the east. The parish chose to build the new church at Draugsvoll in the village of Vinje, about southwest of the historic location of the church. The parish chose to use the same plans that the

Ole Vangberg used to design

Bruvik Church Bruvik Church ( no, Bruvik kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Osterøy Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bruvik. It is the church for the Bruvik parish which is part of the Åsane prosti ...

, except that they wanted the

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. Ove ...

to be slightly longer. John Alver was hired as the lead builder for the project. The new church was built during 1871 and it 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 3 October 1871 by the local Provost Smitt. In 1873, the old church was torn down and its materials were auctioned off. In 1963, a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

was built in the west, a new floor was laid in the church, and the windows were improved. In 1964, the walls were all insulated. Electric heating was installed in the church in 1969.

Media gallery

Vinje kyrkje-2016.jpg Voss Vinje kyrkje RK 85856 IMG 5747.jpg Voss Vinje kyrkje RK 85856 IMG 5748.jpg Vinje Kirke. Vossestrand - no-nb digifoto 20150225 00144 NB MIT FNR 10811 B.jpg Voss Kyrkje - no-nb digifoto 20150218 00156 NB MIT FNR 17275.jpg Vossevangen, Vos - NB MS G4 0135.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Voss Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1871 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References