Årdal 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 ...

in Årdal Municipality in

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

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

Årdalstangen Årdalstangen is the administrative centre of Årdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is one of the two main population centers in the municipality, along with the village of Øvre Årdal. The village has a population (2019 ...

, at the end of the Årdalsfjorden. It is the church for the Nedre Årdal

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 Sogn 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 Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

. The red, wooden 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 1867 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 ...

Christian Christie. The church seats about 400 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1322, but the church was not new that year. The first church was 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 ...

that was likely constructed between 1150 and 1200. The church was located about west of the present church. Over the centuries the church was renovated and at some point, both the

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

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

were expanded. A tower was also built on the west end at some point during the middle ages as well. In the 1800s, the

measured with a narrower

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 ...

measuring . In 1860s, the church was deemed to be too small for the parish and in major need of repair, so they decided to build a new church. The new church was designed by Christian Christie in the 1860s and it was designed to look like a slightly more modern stave church design. The church was prefabricated in Christiania before the materials were transported to Årdal and built right next to the old stave church, about to the east. The new building 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 19 December 1867 by the local parish priest Lauritz Andreas Hald. After the new church was completed, the old church was torn down. During the demolition of the old church, workers found medieval coins under the church which have helped to date the original construction of the church.

Media gallery

FV303 Tangevegen I.jpg, Side view of the present church Årdal kyrkje i Sogn.jpg, Front view of the present church ÅRDAL STAVKIRKE - an10071208211012.jpg, Sketch of the old stave church (1200-1867) Aardal portal.jpg, Entrance to the old church (1200-1867) Aardal grunnriss.jpg, Floorplan of the old church (1200-1867)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aardal Church (Vestland) Årdal Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1867 12th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References