Nord-Vågsøy Church (; historically: Vågsøy Church or Vågsøy Chapel) 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 ...

Kinn Municipality Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality of ...

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

Raudeberg Raudeberg is a village in Kinn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the east side of the island of Vågsøy. The villages of Refvika, Vedvika, and Langeneset are located a few kilometers to the north, and the town of Mål� ...

on the northeastern coast of the island of Vågsøy. It is the church for the Nord-Vågsøy

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 Nordfjord 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, concrete 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 1960 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 ...

Ole Halvorsen. The church seats about 420 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1599, but it was likely built in 1580. Originally, it was called Vågsøy Chapel (). The island of

Vågsøy Vågsøy is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality's administrative center was the town Måløy. Other population centers in Vågsøy included ...

was historically part of the

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

(parish) of

Selje Selje is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway and was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The village of Selje was the administrative center this municipality. and neighborhoods in the municipality i ...

. In 1580, a small chapel was built on the island of Vågsøy, just south of

on the ''Kapelneset'' peninsula, along the eastern shore of the island, about south of the present site of the church. The chapel was served by the priest from Selje Church approximately once each month. The chapel was a small wooden building in a

design. The

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 ...

measured about and it had a

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

on the east end of the nave that measured about . The main doors to the church were on far west end of the north side of the church. The church initially had a

sod roof A sod roof, or turf roof, is a traditional Scandinavian type of green roof covered with sod on top of several layers of birch bark on gently sloping wooden roof boards. Until the late 19th century, it was the most common roof on rural log h ...

. In 1643, the county governor, Collett, described it as ("Vaagsø Chapel looks like an ordinary ugly barn."). In 1847, the local parish priest, Koren, proposed a new church at Raudeberg. The last worship service in the chapel was on 16 May 1853. After this, the building was sold to the merchant Ole Smidt from

Måløy Måløy () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in the List of municipalities of Norway, municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southeastern side of the Vågsøy (island), island of Vågsøy, about northea ...

. In 1854, a larger church was built in the village of Raudeberg, about to the north using plans by the architect

Hans Linstow Hans Ditlev Franciscus (Frants) von Linstow (4 May 1787 – 10 June 1851) was a Danish/ Norwegian architect who designed the Royal Palace in Oslo and much of the surrounding park and the street '' Karl Johans gate''. Background Hans Ditlev Fr ...

. The new church was called Vågsøy Church () until 1907 when a new church was built in Måløy. This church was then renamed ''Nord-Vågsøy'' (North-Vågsøy) and the other church was named ''

Sør-Vågsøy Sør-Vågsøy is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1910 until 1964 and it encompassed the southern part of the Vågsøy ...

'' (South-Vågsøy) church. The new church was in use until it burned down in 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, there was much to rebuild all over Norway, and so this church was not rebuilt until 1960. The new 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 24 October 1960 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 ...

Ragnvald Indrebø Ragnvald Andreas Indrebø (22 November 1891–26 June 1984) was a Norwegian Lutheran Bishop. He was born in Os. He was part of the movement to translate the Norwegian Bible into the Nynorsk written language during the 1930s. He edited the per ...

. The new church is constructed out of concrete. It sits on the side of a hill, so it has a partial basement underneath which includes utility rooms, a kitchen, meeting rooms, bathrooms, and storage. The church cost to construct.

Media gallery

Nord-Vaagsoey kyrkje (01).jpg, View of the present church Nord-Vaagsoey kyrkje (03).jpg, View of the present church Kapellneset kirkested fra RA.jpg, Site of the church prior to 1854

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nord-Vaagsoy Church Kinn Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Concrete churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1960 1580 establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References