Åmli 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 ...

Åmli Municipality Åmli is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative cen ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

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

Åmli Åmli is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative cen ...

. It is one of the churches for the Åmli

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 Aust-Nedenes 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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

. The white, wooden,

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

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 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 ...

Ludvig Karlsen. The church seats about 450 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1378, however it was possibly founded during the 13th century. The first church was built about east of the present site of the church. In 1724, the priest Niels Pedersen purchased all the churches in Åmli

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

when the King put them up for sale to help pay off his war debts. Over the years, the ownership of the church passed between many different people. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church () is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national elections and this ass ...

(). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

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 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 ...

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 in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

later that year. In 1818, the church was purchased by the people of the parish. Shortly afterwards, the parish decided to tear down the centuries-old church and build a new one on the same site. In 1826, the new

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 ...

church was completed. 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 in 1827 by the Bishop Johan Storm Munch. This church was a wooden building with many windows and its exterior was painted white. Nearly 50 years later, it was decided to replace the church again because it was in bad shape. The foundation was failing and the roof was in dire need of repair. In conjunction with building a new church, it was also decided to move the location of the church about to the west, much closer to the village of Åmli. Ludvig Karlsen was hired to lead the construction of the new timber-framed church on the new site. The last service in the old church was held on 15 March 1885 and the next day on 16 March 1885, the new church was

d by the Bishop

Jacob Sverdrup Smitt Jacob Sverdrup Smitt (6 January 1835 – 6 June 1889) was a Norwegian bishop and politician. Career Smitt was born in Land (present-day Nordre Land Municipality), Norway. He was the son of the dean Anton Elias Smitt (1805–1875) and Livia S ...

. Shortly after that, the old church was torn down. That church only lasted a short time because on 24 March 1907, during the

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

worship service, the church caught fire and burned down. Soon after, plans were made to rebuild a church on the same site. Tellef Mosbergplassen was hired to lead the construction of the new building which was to be based on the plans for the previous building from 1885. A new church was completed in 1909 and it was

d on 18 November 1909. In 2009, there was a small expansion in the entry area of the building.

Media gallery

Aamli IMG 1970 aamli krk.JPG Aamli IMG 1969 aamli krk.JPG Aamli IMG 1968 aamli krk.JPG

References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Åmli Churches in Agder Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1909 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches

History

Media gallery

See also

References