Hillesøy 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 ...

Tromsø Municipality Tromsø Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Other notable settlements in the municipality include the vi ...

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 Brensholmen area on the western part of the island of Kvaløya. It is the church for the Hillesøy

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 Tromsø domprosti (arch-

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. 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 1889 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 ...

D.G. Evjen. The church seats about 300 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church is likely much older. The church was likely built here before the first church was built on the nearby island of

Tromsøya or is an island in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It lies in the Tromsøysundet strait between the mainland and the larger island of Kvaløya. The city of Tromsø is located on the island, which has 39,882 residents. The isla ...

in the early 1200s. Originally, Hillesøy Church was located on the island of Hillesøya, just west of Sommarøy, about south of the present church site on Kvaløya island. The church was a wooden 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 ...

floorplan where 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 ...

was about . By the 1700s, the old building was in quite poor condition. Around the year 1770, the old church was torn down and a new church was built on the same site. It was 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 ...

design. During the 1800s, a

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 ...

was built on the east end of the building and a tower with a steeple on the west end. In the 1800s, the church seated about 150 people, but as time went on, the church became too small for the parish and it was decided to move the church to another location that was more central in the parish. A site at Brensholmen on the western coast of Kvaløya island was chosen. It was about south of the old church site. In 1889, a new, larger church was built there and then the old church was torn down afterwards.

Media gallery

Hillesøy kirke i sol.jpg, Nordlicht-hillesøya.jpg, Hillesøy kirke - Front.jpg, Alter Hillesøy kirke.jpg, Galleriet i Hillesøy kirke.jpg, Hillesøy kirke mot koret.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillesoy Church Churches in Tromsø Churches in Troms Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1889 13th-century establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References