Skålvær Church ( no, Skålvær kirke) is a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activitie ...
of the
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...
in
Alstahaug Municipality
Alstahaug is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandnessjøen. Some of the villages in Alstahaug include Søvika and Tjøtta.
Most resid ...
in
Nordland
Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. It is located on the island of
Skålvær. It is one of the churches for the Tjøtta
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 ...
which is part of the
Nord-Helgeland prosti (
deanery
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 reside ...
) in the
Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland
Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the seat of the pre ...
. The white, wooden church was built in a
long church
Church building in Norway began when 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 instance under Urnes Stave ...
style in 1889 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 ...
Nils Kristian Andersen. The church seats about 200 people.
History
In 1882, the people of Skålvær began talking and planning for a church in Skålvær. In 1888, the church building committee purchased the materials from the old
Malm Church in
Trøndelag
Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...
. The old church was being replaced and most of the materials were still in good condition.
Nils Kristian Andersen from Tjøtta was hired as the builder with the completion deadline of August 1889. The new building was
consecrate
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
d on 6 September 1889. The parish decided that the church would have 11 worship services each year (roughly once per month). By the late 20th century, the population in Skålvær had declined significantly and most of the homes on the island are now used only as
holiday cottage
A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...
s, so the church has been taken out of regular use. It is now used once or twice per summer to serve the vacationing residents of the island.
See also
*
List of churches in Sør-Hålogaland
This list of churches in Sør-Hålogaland is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland which includes all of Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is based at the Bodø Cathedral in the town of Bodø.
The li ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaalvaer Church
Alstahaug
Churches in Nordland
Wooden churches in Norway
19th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Churches completed in 1889
1889 establishments in Norway
Long churches in Norway