Eidsfoss 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 ...

Holmestrand Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Holmestrand (town), town of Ho ...

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

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

Eidsfoss Eidsfoss is a village in Holmestrand Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located at the southern end of the lake Eikeren, about north of the village of Hof and about southeast of the village of Vestfossen (in Øvre Eiker ...

. It is one of the churches for the "Hof, Vassås og Eidsfoss" parish which is part of the Nord-Jarlsberg 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 Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes all of the parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in the city of Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and ...

. 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 ...

design in 1904 using plans drawn up by the architect

Holger Sinding-Larsen Peter Andreas Holger Sinding-Larsen (5 July 1869 – 12 December 1938) was a Norway, Norwegian architecture, architect. He is most associated with his work at Akershus Fortress, where he was a member of the restoration committee and architect ...

. The church seats about 200 people.

History

The Eidsfoss

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...

company decided to build a church in the village of

at the turn of the 20th century. The church paid for most of the cost of the building and it was on donated land.

designed the church and Andreas A. Kolstad was hired as the lead builder for the project. Construction began in 1903, but unfortunately on 30 November 1903, the unfinished church building caught fire and burned down. After the rubble was cleared, the church was rebuilt on the same site. The new church was completed and

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 20 July 1904 by the Bishop Anton Christian Bang. The

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 ...

church is often referred to as 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 ...

church, and from the outside it may look like one. However, the pews are arranged as in a

. The cross arms are actually sacristies with galleries above, rather that part of the main

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 ...

, so it is more like a long church than a cruciform church. In 1958, the ironworks company sold gave the church to the parish.

References

{{Authority control Holmestrand Churches in Vestfold Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1904 1904 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References