Fåvang Stave 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 Ringebu Municipality in

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

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 just south of the village of

Fåvang Fåvang is a village in Ringebu Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river, about north of the town of Lillehammer (town), Lillehammer. The European route E6 h ...

. It is the main church for the Fåvang

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

Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Innlandet county plus the parishes in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. The diocese is based at th ...

(

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 Hamar The Diocese of Hamar () is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

. The brown, wooden church was built in 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 ...

design in the year 1630 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 ...

Werner Olsen. The church seats about 170 people.

History

The first church in Fåvang was built as a wooden stave church in the late 13th century on the present site of the church (some records state that the church first was built on another site, but there is no conclusive evidence of this). This stave church was a wooden

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 ...

. During the period 1627–1630, Fåvang church was just about completely rebuilt as well as enlarged. A nearby 11th-century stave church was recently torn down and the materials from that old church plus materials from the old Fåvang Stave Church were reused in the rebuilding of the Fåvang Stave Church. Consequently, the oldest materials of the present church can date back to about 1150–1250. According to tradition, the reconstruction was supervised by master-builder Werner Olsen (ca. 1600–1682), who was also responsible for reconstruction of Ringebu Stave Church and Lom Stave Church. During this period of rebuilding, the staves were removed and it was reconstructed as a timber-framed building with a

floor plan. The church has a number of historic furnishings. Among other things the church has votives from 1684 to 1694. The altar and pulpit are of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style, both dated to the 17th century. A painting of the

Christ Child The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...

is from 1732. The church has been through several reconstructions. In 1900–1901, the church received new exterior siding and the

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

were rebuilt and enlarged. At that time, the church was painted white. From 1949 to 1951, the church was again restored, this time under the direction of architect Jens Gram Dunker. The windows were replaced and many of the interior furnishings were changed. The church was re-consecrated on 9 September 1951. Because it has been so extensively modified over the centuries, it is often called a stave church, but it is not always counted among the true, historic Norwegian stave churches.

Media gallery

Stavkirkje Favang Norway (1).jpg Stavkirkje Favang Norway (3).jpg Faavang kirkested - Korstadkampen 978 m IMG 6786.jpg Fåvang Church (kirke) c. 1630, at Tromsnesvegen, Fåvang, Ringebu, Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland, Norway. Graveyard (kirkegård), cemetery wreaths, funeral flowers, springtime, Korstadkampen, etc. 2017-04-05 4074.jpg Fåvang Church (kirke) c. 1630, at Tromsnesvegen, Fåvang, Ringebu, Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland, Norway. Graveyard (kirkegård), gate, springtime, stone fence, farms, etc. 2017-04-05 4083.jpg Fåvang Church (kirke) c. 1630, at Tromsnesvegen, Fåvang, Ringebu, Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland, Norway. Korstadkampen, etc. 2017-04-05 4059.jpg Fåvang kirke.JPG Fåvang stavkirke - an10071112121132.jpg

References

External links

Fåvang Sogn website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Favang Stave Church Stave churches in Norway Ringebu Churches in Sør-Gudbrandsdal Deanery Churches in Innlandet Cruciform churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1630 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links