Målselv 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 ...

Målselv Municipality Målselv () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen, Troms, Moen. The main commercial centre of the municipality is the ...

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 along the river

Målselva The Målselva is a river in Målselv Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The long river flows through the Målselvdalen valley and then empties into the Målselvfjorden, an arm of the Malangen fjord. The municipality and the valley through ...

at Målselv, about north of the village of

Bardufoss or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and commercial centre in Målselv Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The urban area was formally established as a town under Norwegian law in 2021 when the three villages of Andselv, Andslimo ...

. It is the main church for the Målselv

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 Senja 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 Nord-Hålogaland. The white concrete and red brick 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 1978 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 ...

Harry Gangvik. The church seats about 360 people.

History

The first church in Målselv was built in 1829. It was a red, wooden,

octagonal In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a hex ...

building. It looked a lot like the

Grytten Church Grytten Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located near the mouth of the Rauma River in the village of Veblungsnes. It is the church for the Grytten parish which i ...

that still exists. By the late 1800s, the church was too small for the parish, so it was decided to build a new church. The new, white, wooden church was built in a

style in 1883 by the

Håkon Mosling Håkon Adelstein Mosling (16 April 1840 - 7 October 1914) was a Norwegian builder and architect. Mosling lived in several places, including Trondheim (1865–1873), Steinkjer (1874–1894), and Oslo (1894–1914). As part of his architectural pr ...

from

Steinkjer or is a municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Steinkjer (town), town of Steinkjer which is located on the inne ...

. 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 11 July 1883 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 ...

Jacob Sverdrup Smitt Jacob Sverdrup Smitt (6 January 1835 – 6 June 1889) was a Norwegian bishop and politician. Career Smitt was born in Land (present-day Nordre Land Municipality), Norway. He was the son of the dean Anton Elias Smitt (1805–1875) and Livia S ...

. The new church was much larger, seating about 800 people. On 29 June 1972, the church was struck by

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

and it burned down. It took six years to clear the area, make plans, raise money, and rebuild the 3rd Målselv Church. The new concrete and brick church was built in a more modern style. It was

d on 19 March 1978.

Media gallery

MalselvKirkeAltertavle.jpg, Altar table MalselvKirkeInterior.jpg, Interior MalselvKirkeInterior2.jpg, Interior MalselvKirkeKunstlarstolerV.jpg, Interior chairs Målselv kirke (1).jpg, Exterior Målselv kirke (4).jpg, Graveyard Målselv kirke (5).jpg, Graveyard Målselv kirke (2).jpg, World War II memorial

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maalselv Church Målselv Churches in Troms 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1978 1829 establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway Brick churches in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References