Tjugum Church

Tjugum Church (Norwegian: Tjugum kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sogndal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Balestrand. It is one of two churches for the Balestrand parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal style in 1863 using designs by the architect Christian Henrik Grosch. The church seats about 320 people.[1][2]

Tjugum Church
Tjugum kyrkje
View of the church
Tjugum Church
Location of the church
Tjugum Church
Tjugum Church (Norway)
61.2150°N 6.5432°E / 61.2150; 6.5432
LocationSogndal Municipality,
Vestland
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
StatusParish church
Founded12th century
Consecrated29 October 1863
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)Christian Heinrich Grosch
Architectural typeOctagonal
Completed1863
Specifications
Capacity320
MaterialsWood
Administration
ParishBalestrand
DeanerySogn prosti
DioceseBjørgvin

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1323, but it was not new that year. It is not known when the original stave church was built here, but it could have been as early as the 12th century. In 1610, the old church was torn down and replaced by a new timber-framed church. The timber church from 1610 is shown in a painting from 1839 (see media gallery below). In 1696-1698, a sacristy was added to the east of the choir.[3]

This church was part of the Leikanger parish until 1 March 1849 when the new Balestrand parish was established. Tjugum Church was to be the main church for the parish, so a new, larger church was commissioned to be built. So in 1863, the old church was torn down and replaced by a new octagonal church on the same site.[3] The new building was consecrated on 29 October 1863 by the local Dean Thomas Erichsen.[4]

  • Exterior of the church
  • View from a distance
  • View of the front
  • Another view of the exterior
  • View of the previous church (1839)

See also

References
  1. "Tjugum kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  3. "Tjugum kyrkjested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  4. Thue, Johannes B. "Tjugum kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Fylkesarkivet. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
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