Førde 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 Sveio 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

Førde Førde is a former municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was the town of Førde which in 2016 had 10,255 inhabitants. Other villages in Før ...

. It is one of the churches for the ''Valestrand og Førde''

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 Sunnhordland 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 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 ...

design in 1938 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 ...

Torgeir Alvsaker Torgeir Alvsaker (1875—1971) was a Norwegian architect. Alvsaker was born 9 February 1875 on the Alvsaker farm in Kinsarvik, Norway. He attended the Bergen Technical School and graduated in 1898. He then became an assistant to architect Ad ...

. The church seats about 250 people.

History

On 1 July 1935, the new parish of ''Vestre Vikebygd'' was established. Planning for a new church for the parish began soon after. On 4 March 1937, official permission was granted to construct the new church.

was hired to design the new building which was built in 1937-1938. The 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 22 September 1938 by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Andreas Fleischer. The church was originally called ''Vestre Vikebygd'' Church. It was part of the old municipality of

Vikebygd Vikebygd is a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located along the Ålfjorden, about straight west of the village of Ølensvåg. The village was the administrative centre of the former municipality o ...

when it was constructed, and it served the western part of the municipality, hence the name (''vestre'' means "western" in Norwegian). The municipalities of Vikebygd and Sveio were merged in 1964. On 1 July 1981, the name of the church and parish was changed to ''Førde'' Church to reflect the change in municipality.

Media gallery

Førde kyrkje i Sunnhordland.jpg Førde kirke i Sveio.jpg Førde kirke Sveio.JPG

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forde Church Sveio Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1938 1938 establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References