Vågan Church (; nickname: ''Lofoten Cathedral'') is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

Vågan Municipality Vågan () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the List of to ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located in the village of Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya. It is the church for the Vågan

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

which is part of the Lofoten prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The yellow, wooden church was built in a

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

style in 1898 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 ...

Carl J. Bergstrøm. The church seats about 1,200 people, making it the largest wooden building in

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

, hence the nickname ''Lofoten Cathedral''.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the early 12th century when King Øystein Magnusson (c. 1088– 1123) ordered that a church be built in Vågan to serve the

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. T ...

area. The first church was likely a stave church and it was located about west of the present site of the church. In the mid-1600s, the old church was enlarged and renovated, giving the building a

design. After centuries of use, the old church deteriorated and in 1712 or 1713 the old church began to collapse and so it was torn down. A new church was built on the same site in 1713–1714. It was a timber-framed long church design with a tower on the roof and a cemetery surrounding the church. This church was in use for nearly a century when in 1798, it was disassembled and moved to the nearby island of

Værøya Værøya or Værøy is an island in Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island makes up about 89% of the land area of the whole municipality and it is home to 100% of the municipal residents. Name The Old Norse form of the isla ...

where it was rebuilt as the Værøy Church. A new church was built in Vågan to replace the one that was moved away. The new church was a timber building in a

design. In 1814, this church served as an election church (). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the

Constitution of Norway The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...

. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish 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 at Eidsvoll Manor later that year. By the late 1800s, the Kabelvåg area had seen a lot of population growth due to the tremendous fishing opportunities each season. In 1898, a new church was built about to the east of the old church. It was designed to be large enough to accommodate all the fishermen who came to Kabelvåg each season. It was nicknamed the "Lofoten Cathedral" () by Eivind Berggrav, the Bishop of the

Diocese of Oslo The Diocese of Oslo is the Church of Norway's Diocese, bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese ...

in 1929. The church was designed in Gothic revival style by the

Carl Julius Bergstrøm (1828-1898). The new church was

consecrate Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

d on 9 October 1898. After the new church was completed, the "old church" was still located just across the road for a couple of years until it was demolished in the summer of 1900.

Media gallery

Kirkvaag - an10071209031005.jpg, Exterior drawing Lofotenkathedrale Kabelvåg (2).JPG, Exterior side Lofotkatedralen om vinteren.jpg, Exterior front Lofotkatedralen2016.jpg, Exterior side Lofoten Cathedral 2009 2.JPG, Tower Lofoten Cathedral 02.jpg, Interior Lofoten Cathedral 17.jpg, Pulpit Lofoten Cathedral 18.jpg, Baptismal font Lofoten Cathedral 09.jpg, Altarpiece Lofoten Cathedral 10.jpg, Altar Lofoten Cathedral 03.jpg, Nave Lofoten Cathedral 16.jpg, Window Vågan kirke 115383.jpeg, The new, larger church in 1900 before the old, smaller church (foreground) was torn down.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaagan Church Vågan Churches in Nordland Wooden churches in Norway Cruciform churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1898 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches

History

Media gallery

See also

References