Røbekk Church (, historic: ''Bolsøy kirke'') 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 ...

Molde Municipality Molde Municipality () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal ...

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

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

Røbekk Røbekk is a neighborhood on the eastern edge of the town of Molde which is located in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The neighborhood is located on the northern shore of the Fannefjorden, about east of the centre of the ...

, an eastern suburb of the town of Molde. It is the main church for the Bolsøy

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

Molde domprosti Molde () is a town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. Molde has a mar ...

(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 Møre The Diocese of Møre () is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center of Molde. , the Bisho ...

. 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 ...

design in 1898 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 ...

Gabriel Smith ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985 and currently airs on digital channel Eleven. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the show in 2017, by order of first appearance. A ...

. The church seats about 300 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but that was not the year it was built. The first church here was likely a wooden

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

that was built in the 14th century. Historically, the church was known as ''Bolsøy Church''. The church was originally built on the island of

Bolsøya Bolsøya is an island in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island lies in the Romsdalsfjorden at the entrance to the Fannefjorden. The island is connected to the mainland by the Bolsøy Bridge and to the town of Molde ...

, about south of the present church site. Originally, the building was a

, but around the year 1660, the church was expanded by adding

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s to the north and south to create 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 ...

building. By the 1720s, the old church was no longer in good condition. In 1727, a new wooden,

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 ...

church was constructed about east of the old church. After the new building was completed, the old church was torn down. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church () is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national elections and this ass ...

(). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

which wrote the

Constitution of Norway The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...

. This was Norway's first national elections. Each

church parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet at

Eidsvoll Manor Eidsvollsbygningen (Literally: ''The Eidsvoll building'') is a historic manor house located at Eidsvoll in Akershus county, Norway. The building is where the Constitution of Norway was signed on 17 May 1814. The estate is now owned by The State o ...

later that year. By the 1890s, discussions were had on moving the church to the mainland. Eventually, it was decided to build two new churches. The old Bolsøy Church site would be moved to

on the mainland north of the island of Bolsøya and the church would be known as Røbekk Church. The southeastern part of the parish would be split off as an annex church ( Røvik Church) at Røvika on the mainland to the southeast of the island of Bolsøya. The old Bolsøy Church would continue to be used until both new churches were completed. On 2 May 1896, the new annex parish was created for the soon-to-be-built Røvik Church. The new Røbekk Church was built first, being completed in 1898. The church was designed by Gabriel Smith and built by the carpenter Sivert Erstad. It 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 30 September 1898. The new Røvik Church was built second, begin completed in 1905. The old Bolsøy Church was torn down in 1907. Since the old Bolsøy Church was torn down, the Røbekk Church has also been referred to as Bolsøy Church since it is the main church for the Bolsøy parish.

Media gallery

Robekk-kirke2-Molde-Norway.jpg, Front view Røbekk kirke 2012.jpg, Side view Robekk-kirke1-Molde-Norway.jpg, Close up side view

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robekk Church Buildings and structures in Molde Churches in Møre og Romsdal Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1898 14th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches

History

Media gallery

See also

References