Løkken 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 ...

Orkland Municipality Orkland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Orkdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Orkang ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

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 a rural area between the nearby villages of Bjørnli and

Løkken Verk Løkken Verk (or simply ''Løkken'') is a village in Orkland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located south of the village of Svorkmo, east of the village of Bjørnli, and north of the municipal center of Meldal (village), Meld ...

. It is the church for the Løkken

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

Orkdal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Trøndelag county. The diocese is based at the Nidaros Cathedral in the city of Trondheim (city), T ...

(

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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. The red, 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 1929 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 ...

Roar Tønseth. The church seats about 170 people.

History

is an old mining village. When the

Orkla Group Orkla ASA is a Norwegian conglomerate operating in Europe, Asia and the US. At present, Orkla operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium products and financial investment sectors. Orkla ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its he ...

was established in 1904, mining (and the local population) sharply increased and the need for a separate church on the site also increased. The area was part of the Meldal Church parish and it was a long journey to the church for the miners, especially for those who did not have a horse ride. Because of this, the Orkla Group established regular worship services in the mining village. A workers'

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

was converted into an

annex chapel A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to travel distance. Often a ...

for the parish and was taken into use on 28 December 1913. The new chapel had room for about 100 people. However, it soon became apparent that it was becoming too small. There was a service here every fourth Sunday, and interest in the church among the miners and their families was so great that the Orkla Group soon looked for a larger (and also more dignified) house of worship. The company eventually purchased the

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by milita ...

at Bjørnlivatnet. The shooting range had a large building was built in 1916. The building was a magnificent building, designed by architect Morten Bachke. It had a large hall on the upper floor that was used for various events, including a cinema there twice a week for many years. On the lower floor, there was a large, open-air passageway right through the house for patrons to access the shooting range. In front of the shooting range, a large sports field was built in 1923, and the football field there was taken into use in 1924. The company hired the

Roar Tønseth to redesign the building and to convert it into a chapel. A new, small, narrow tower was constructed on the roof, the passage through the basement floor was closed in, and the basement was converted into an apartment for the church workers. In front of the building, a free-standing

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

was erected using a bell from 1653 that had previously been used in the old Meldal Church. Indoors, the painters Ole Teien and Oskar Hogstad were commissioned to decorate the new

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 ...

on the walls and ceiling. One page contains motifs from the Old Testament and on the other side we find motifs from the New Testament. The decorations between the windows are inspired by decorations from the Kvikne Church. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

was painted by Ole Mæhle. The newly renovated chapel was

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 13 September 1929. When the chapel was opened, the sports field in front was converted into a beautiful park and the field in the back was used as a burial ground starting in 1930. At the 300th anniversary of mining at Løkken Verk in 1954, the chapel received a gift of a new large magnificent bell that was cast by Olsen Naum. Since 1929, the

has owned and operated the chapel. In 1999, the parish changed its status from

. For many years, the

also paid the salary to have an auxiliary priest at the church full time. In 2011, this church was the only privately owned parish church left in all of Norway (historically, there had been many, but since the 19th century, this was much less common), so the parish council began talking to the Orkla Group about taking over ownership. In 2012, the

formally transferred the ownership of the church to the local parish council, leaving no more privately-owned churches in Norway.

Media gallery

Løkken kirke (bilde01) (bilde02) (21. juli 2018).jpg Løkken kirke (bilde02) (21. juli 2018).jpg Løkken kirke, Bjørnlivatnet (bilde02) (21. juli 2018).jpg Løkken kirke, Bjørnlivatnet, Bjørnli haveby (bilde02) (21. juli 2018).jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=July 2021 Orkland Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1929 1913 establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References