Dyrøy 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 ...

Dyrøy Municipality Dyrøy () is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Brøstadbotn. Other villages include Dyrøyhamn, Espenes, Holm, and Hundstrand. The municipality is the 270th largest by ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

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

Holm Holm may refer to: Places * Holm (island), the name of several islands * Holm, Nordfriesland, Germany * Holm, Pinneberg, Germany * Holm (Flensburg), Flensburg, Germany * Holm, Nordland, a village in Bindal Municipality in Nordland county ...

on the eastern shore of the island of Dyrøya. It is one of the churches for the Dyrøy

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 Senja 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 Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms and Finnmark counties as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø at the Tromsø Cathedral, t ...

. The white, 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 ...

style in 1880 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 ...

Håkon Mosling. The church seats about 450 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church was likely built around the year 1500. The first church was located at Dyrøyhamn, about south of the present church site. At that time, the church was sometimes known as since Dyrøyhamn was known as at that time. During an inspection in August 1770, the old church was described as a

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

building with 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 ...

floor plan with a

sod roof A sod roof, or turf roof, is a traditional Scandinavian type of green roof covered with sod on top of several layers of birch bark on gently sloping wooden roof boards. Until the late 19th century, it was the most common roof on rural log h ...

. It also had a tower,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The church measured about long and wide. It had a graveyard surrounding the church. At that time, the inspectors found that the church was "miserable and dilapidated" and they recommended a new church be constructed. In 1770, the graveyard was closed. In 1777, a new church was built at ''Holm'' about further north along the coast of the island. The new building was also a cruciform design 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 9 November 1777. The red church had a small tower and two entrances. In 1778, the old church was auctioned off to Nils Peterson and Jørgen Hansen who took it down and reused its materials. In 1880, a new

was built about to the northwest of the older church. The new building had a tower on the west end. After the new church was in use, the old church was torn down. The cemetery by the old church is still in use, a short distance from the new church building.

Media gallery

Dyrøy kirkested i høstsol.jpg, Dyrøy kirkested i Dyrøy kommune, sett fra gravlund.jpg, Dyrøy kirkested, fra en engels synsvinkel.jpg, Dyrøy kirkested, sett fra et gravminne på Dyrøy kirkes kirkegård.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyroy Church Dyrøy Churches in Troms Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1880 16th-century establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References