Vadsø 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 ...

Vadsø Municipality Vadsø (; ; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Vadsø (town), town of Vadsø, which is also the administrative centre of Fi ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

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 town of Vadsø. It is the main church for the Vadsø

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 Varanger 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 gray, concrete church was built in a long church style in 1958 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 ...

Magnus Poulsson. The church seats about 480 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church was not new at that time. The first church was located on the island of Vadsøya, where the main Vadsø settlement was located at that time. It was located about southeast of the present bridge connecting the island to the mainland. In 1693 the church is referred to as "very old and small for the congregation that exists". The building was a long church with 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 ...

with a

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

above 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 ...

. The nave was about long. In the early 1700s, the small town had expanded beyond its site on the island of Vadsøya to also include land on the mainaland. The old church was in need of replacement, so a new church was built in 1709 at Skattøra on the mainland, about north of the old church site on the island. The church was located in what is now the western part of the Vadsø cemetery. It was a timber-framed building with 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 ...

ground plan and tower. This new building 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 in 1711, around the same time that the old medieval church was torn down. In 1814, this church served as an election church (). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly 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 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 in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

later that year. In 1858, work on a new

church was begun at Galgebakken, about to the northwest of the old church. The church was going to be larger than the old church to support the growing town. This new church was completed and

d in 1861. After the new church was put into use, the older church was no longer used and in 1869, most of the old church was torn down. The entry porch was retained, however, and it was turned into a small burial chapel that continued to stand at the cemetery. During the night of 28–29 October 1944, the retreating German army burned most of the town of Vadsø including the church. The present church was completed in 1958 to replace the previous church.

Media gallery

Gamle Vadsø kyrkje Wilse.jpeg, View of the old church (1861–1944) Vadso Kirche.jpg, Current church Vadsø kirke i snø.jpg, Current church Vadsø kirke - no-nb digifoto 20150219 00103 NB MIT FNR 19106.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vadso Church Vadsø Churches in Finnmark 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1958 16th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches Long churches in Norway Concrete churches in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References