Vuku Church ( no, Vuku 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 Vuku. 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 red, 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 1654 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 Jonsen Hindrum Ole Jonsen Hindrum was a Norwegian builder and architect. He was a noted church builder in Trøndelag county, particularly specializing in the rare and unique Y-shaped floor plan. Ole Jonsen Hindrum was born around the year 1625 in Hindrem in L ...

. The church seats about 200 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1533, but the church was not new that year. The first church at Vuku was 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 possibly built in the 14th century. The old church had a

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 rectangular floor plan and a smaller, narrower and straight-ended

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 ...

on the east end. On the west end it had an entry porch with a bell tower above it. By the mid-1600s, the old church was in very poor condition and it was decided to tear down the old church and to build a new one on the same site. The new church was completed in 1654 and it was formally

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 on 6 February 1655. The new church is a wooden

that was designed by

. The church has a tower on the roof of the nave and 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 ...

on the north side of the choir. In 1673, the entry porch and the sacristy were taken down and rebuilt. In 1677 a second floor seating gallery was installed. In 1683, a new baptismal room was built. In 1812, the entry porch on the west end of the building was rebuilt again. The night between 19 and 20 November 1844, lightning struck the tower and caused a fire in the church. The tower and the entry porch were damaged, but the rest of the church was saved thanks to a heavy rain that put out the fire. After discussions and planning, the church was extensively renovated and repaired. It was given a new tower on the roof of the nave. Much of the interior was changed on that occasion. In 1904, a new entrance was added to the south wall of the

. For the 300th anniversary in 1955, the church was renovated and partially restored to its former appearance according to plans by

John Tverdahl John Egil Tverdahl (1890 in Trondheim – 1969) was a Norwegian architect. Tverdahl designed many churches as well as led the restoration of several churches that were located in Nordmøre, Trøndelag, and Nordland in northern Norway. Tverdahl w ...

and Ola Seter.

Media gallery

Vuku kirke 2017.jpg Vuku kirke, Nord-Trøndelag - Riksantikvaren-T375 01 0025.jpg Vuku kirke, Nord-Trøndelag - Riksantikvaren-T375 01 0020.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2021 Churches in Verdal Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1654 14th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References