Ålesund Church () 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 ...

Ålesund Municipality Ålesund (, sometimes spelled Aalesund in English) is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ce ...

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

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 center of the town of Ålesund, on the island of Aspøya. It is one of three churches for the Ålesund and Volsdalen

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 Nordre Sunnmøre 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 Møre The Diocese of Møre () is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center of Molde. , the Bisho ...

. The large, stone church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity in Norway, 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 inst ...

design and in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style in 1909 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 ...

Sverre Knudsen. The church seats about 800 people.

History

Historically, the area of Ålesund was part of the

Borgund Church Borgund Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Borgund, just east of the city of Ålesund. It is the church for the Borgund parish whic ...

parish. In 1848,

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

was established as a

kjøpstad A (historically ''kjøbstad'', ''kjöbstad'', or ''kaupstad'', from ) is an old Scandinavian term for a "market town" in Denmark–Norway for several hundred years. Kjøpstads were places of trade and exporting materials (e.g. timber, flour, iron ...

and soon after it was granted permission to build a church. The first church in Ålesund was constructed in 1853-1854 and it was

consecrated 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 (a ...

on 25 January 1855. The new church became its own parish in 1858. The new church was designed by the

Heinrich Ernst Schirmer Heinrich Ernst Schirmer (27 August 1814 – 6 December 1887) was a German-born architect most noted for his work in Norway. Schirmer worked in Norway from 1838 to 1883 and left his mark on a number of public buildings. He contributed significant ...

. The church's design was very similar to the Strøm Church in

Sør-Odal Municipality Sør-Odal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skarn ...

(now in

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

county). It was built out of brick and it had 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 ...

design. The exterior brick was left unpainted, but the western tower was covered in white plaster. On 23 January 1904, the church was destroyed by the great

Ålesund fire The Ålesund fire happened on 23 January 1904 in the Norwegian city of Ålesund. It destroyed almost the whole city centre, built mostly of wood, like the majority of Norwegian towns at the time. The town has since been rebuilt and it is now th ...

. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed and nearly the entire town had to be rebuilt. Afterwards, a competition of architects was held to design the new, replacement church building. Sverre Knudsen was chosen as the person to design the new Ålesund Church. The new church was to be located on the same site as the previous church, although its orientation was reversed (entrance on the east end and the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

on the west end). The

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

for the new church was laid down on 13 July 1906 by the new

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

. The church is a three aisled

constructed out of stone. Roughly of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

cover the church's

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

. The church took about three years to be completed and it 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 15 September 1909. The tower is asymmetrically located on the south side of the building.

Gallery

Alesund Kirke - panoramio.jpg Iglesia parroquial, Ålesund, Noruega, 2019-09-01, DD 77.jpg File:Alesund kirke.jpg, File:Alesund 07.jpg, 104 Kongen nedlæger Grundstenen til Kirken. Aalesund - no-nb digifoto 20160217 00019 bldsa PK13897.jpg, King Haakon VII laying the foundation stone Ålesund - no-nb digifoto 20150211 00154 NB MIT FNR 16794.jpg Die Alesunder Kirche ist ein beeindruckendes Gesamtkunstwerk. 10.jpg Die Alesunder Kirche ist ein beeindruckendes Gesamtkunstwerk. 09.jpg Die Alesunder Kirche ist ein beeindruckendes Gesamtkunstwerk. 12.jpg Die Alesunder Kirche ist ein beeindruckendes Gesamtkunstwerk. 15.jpg Cementerio de la iglesia parroquial, Ålesund, Noruega, 2019-09-01, DD 81-85 PAN.jpg, Cemetery

References

External links

Maria & Ronny Got Married, "The Surprise" - Ålesund Church - Norway (HD)
extensively shows the interior of Ålesund Church, including the choir loft. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aalesund Church Buildings and structures in Ålesund Churches in Møre og Romsdal Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway Art Nouveau church buildings in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1909 1855 establishments in Norway

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links