Øyestad Church
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Øyestad 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
Arendal Municipality Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...
in
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 Rykene, on the north side of the river
Nidelva Nidelva is a river in Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name of the long river translates to "the River Nid" since the suffix ''elva'' is the Norwegian language, Norwegian word for "the river". Location The Nidelva starts at the Hytt ...
. It is one of the churches for the Øyestad
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 Arendal 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 white, 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 ...
, gothic design around the year 1200 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 main body of the church is
whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...
ed stone, but the main entrance and tower are wooden and painted red. The church seats about 250 people.


History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1338, but the church was likely built around the year 1200 although that date is uncertain. The church was probably built in a Romanesque design originally. In the late 1400s, the church priest was designated as a
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
and around that same time the church was renovated and many Gothic design elements were added. Around this same time the old
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 ...
was torn down, 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 ...
was extended, and a new choir was built. The church grew to be a very important church within the diocese, so much so that it used to be referred to as (meaning it was the Christianssand Bishop's other seat). 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 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 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 the late 1800s, the centuries-old Øyestad Church had become too small for the parish which was located close to the quickly growing town of Arendal. Construction of the new church nearby was approved in 1882. The design of the building was based on the design of the nearby
Stokken Church Stokken Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Saltrød. It is one of the churches for the Moland parish which is part of the Arendal prosti (deanery) i ...
which was designed by J.C. Reuter. The new Bjorbekk Church cost about to construct at that time. 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 23 July 1884. Originally, the new church at Bjorbekk was named ''Øyestad Church'' since it was to be the new main church for that parish and the old Øyestad Church was renamed ''Old Øyestad Church''. Those names, however, did not stick and people began to call this new church ''Bjorbekk Church'' since it was on the Bjorbekk farm and they continued to refer to the old church as simply ''Øyestad Church''. The names were later officially changed to match the local usages. After the new Bjorbekk Church was completed in 1884, this church was used less often. Øyestad Church was severely burned by a wildfire on 18 May 1900. 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 ...
,
sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...
, tower, altarpiece, and pulpit were all destroyed along with the paintings on the walls. The only parts remaining of the old church were the stone walls and foundation. A few inventory items (such as a
baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...
from 1540, some altar silver and a couple of candlesticks) were rescued, but most were lost in the fire. After the fire, the church was rebuilt using drawings by Jørgen Berner, rebuilding it to look like it did before the fire. The church was completed in 1902. From 2006 to 2008, the church underwent extensive restoration inside and outside the building.


Media gallery

Øyestad kirke 2020 n.jpg ØyestadGmlKirkeVestvegg.jpg Øyestad kirke, Aust-Agder - Riksantikvaren-T192 01 0035.jpg ØyestadGmlKirkeVestportal.jpg ØyestadGmlKirkegårdGravkors1866.jpg


See also

* List of churches in Agder og Telemark


References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Buildings and structures in Arendal Churches in Agder Stone churches in Norway 13th-century churches in Norway 13th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches