Brattvær Church

Brattvær Church (Norwegian: Brattvær kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Smøla Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the tiny hamlet of Brattvær, just south of the larger village of Råket on the western coast of the island of Smøla. It is the church for the Brattvær parish which is part of the Ytre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1917 by the architect Jakob Parelius Holmgren. The church seats about 420 people.[1][2]

Brattvær Church
Brattvær kirke
View of the church
Brattvær Church Location of the church Brattvær Church Brattvær Church (Norway)
63.4065°N 7.8054°E
Location	Smøla Municipality, Møre og Romsdal
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Jakob Parelius Holmgren
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1917
Specifications
Capacity	420
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Brattvær
Deanery	Ytre Nordmøre prosti
Diocese	Møre

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1589. The church originally stood on the highest hill on the small island of Brattværet, one of the larger islands about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) northwest of the main . In 1661, the church was described as a stave church without a tower or spire. The church did not have a very good churchyard in which coffins could be buried due to the rocky land. In the early 1700s, the church blew down in a large storm. Soon after, in 1709, a chapel was erected on the site. This chapel building was standing until 1888.[3]

In 1885, it was decided to replace the old Brattvær Church, but to build it on the main island of Smøla. It was built at Skarpeneset on the west coast of Smøla. After lightning strikes on 20 November 1913, the church burned down to the ground. Work on planning a new church on the same site started immediately. The new church building was consecrated on 26 September 1917. In 1954, electricity was installed in the building for the first time. In the late-1970s bathrooms were installed in the building. A renovation of the building was completed in 2007, with new paint and a newly rebuilt roof after a lightning strike damaged it.[4]

See also

• List of churches in Møre og Romsdal

References

1. "Brattvær kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
3. "Brattvær kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
4. "Brattvær kirke" (in Norwegian). DigialtMuseum.no. Retrieved 2019-03-31.