Vågstranda 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 ...

Vestnes Municipality Vestnes is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Vestnes is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

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 Vågstranda on the coast of

Romsdal Fjord or is the ninth-longest fjord in Norway. The long fjord is located in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county. It flows through the municipalities of Molde, Haram, Vestnes, and Rauma. The deepest point in the fjord is just southwest ...

. It is the church for the Vågstranda

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 Indre Romsdal 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 Møre. 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 ...

style in 1869 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 ...

Jacob Wilhelm Nordan Jacob Wilhelm Nordan (23 February 1824 – 11 April 1892) was a Danish-born, Norwegian architect. During his career, he was one of the most prolific church architects in Norway. Biography Nordan was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and came to Nor ...

and the builder G. Olsen. The church seats about 200 people.

History

The church was originally established in 1870 to give the people of the Vågstranda area a church that they could attend that was closer than the

Old Veøy Church Old Veøy Church () is a former parish church of the Church of Norway in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the small island of Veøya which lies in the Romsdalsfjorden. It was the main church for the Veøy ...

which sat on an island in the

. At that time, there were about 450 people living in the Vågstranda area who would be able to use the church. To raise money for the new church, 39 families joined together to pool their money to fund the costs of the church. All farm owners in the parish volunteered together to construct the walls surrounding the cemetery. The building was built by the carpenter G. Olsen from

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

who used architectural plans drawn up by

. The church was a sort of manufactured building that was actually constructed in Trondheim, then disassembled, shipped to Vågstranda, and then rebuilt on site. In 1881, a large

winter storm A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental and subarct ...

hit the church and it actually moved the church about off its foundation. That following spring, the church was repaired. The building received electricity in 1951, and in 1958 the church got new wood stoves for heat. The church was restored in 1971 for the centennial anniversary of the church. During this renovation, a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

was built, the exterior walls were insulated and clad with new siding, and new lighting was installed. On 1 January 2021, the Vågstranda area was administratively transferred from

Rauma Municipality Rauma is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre is the town of Åndalsnes. Other s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaagstranda Church Vestnes Churches in Møre og Romsdal Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1870 1870 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References