Vennesla Church ( no, Vennesla 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 in Vennesla Municipality in

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

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 the ...

. It is located in the village of Vennesla. It is the church for the Vennesla

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 o ...

which is part of the

Otredal prosti This list of churches in Agder og Telemark is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Agder and Vestfold og Telemark counties in southern Norway. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the c ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The church is also the seat of the provost of the

. The white, stone church was built in a long church design in 1830 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 240 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1620, but the church was pretty old at that time. At that time, the church had 2 bells which were described as "almost useless" plus several very old pieces of furniture in the building. In 1638, a new, small, wooden church was built on the same site. By the 1820s, the church was too small and in need of expansion or replacement. After many issues arising from the new location, type of materials to use, lack of money, difficulty in transporting materials, and issues with the workers, construction began in 1829 on a site just east of the old church. The new stone church was consecrated on 22 August 1830. Afterwards, the old church was torn down (the old church site was between the present church and the current road). The main

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 ...

and

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 sp ...

were made of stone and the entry and tower on the west and sacristy in the east were constructed out of wood. In 1886, the tower was reconstructed and heightened (although this was a controversial change). In 2018, work on planning for a new Vennesla Church began. Construction began in 2019 on a site immediately to the east of the old church. It is expected that the new church will be completed in the spring of 2022.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Vennesla Churches in Agder Stone churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1830

History

See also

References