Voss Church

Voss Church (Norwegian: Voss kyrkje, Voss kirke, or Vangskyrkja) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Voss Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vossevangen. It is the church for the Voss parish which is part of the Hardanger og Voss prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The gray, stone church was built in a long church style around the year 1277 using designs by an unknown architect. The church seats about 460 people.[1][2]

Voss Church
Voss kyrkje / Vangskyrkja
Voss Church
Voss Church Location of the church Voss Church Voss Church (Norway)
60.6287°N 6.4151°E
Location	Voss, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Previous denomination	Catholic Church
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1270s
Specifications
Capacity	460
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Voss
Deanery	Hardanger og Voss prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Automatically protected
ID	85868

History

View of the church

The site of the present church may once have been occupied by a heathen temple. In 1023, King Olaf Haraldsen visited Vossevangen to convert the people to Christianity. Tradition says that he built a large stone cross at the site, which was probably the first Christian place of worship at Voss and it became the main church for Hordafylket during the Middle Ages.[3][4]

The first church here was built of wood, but it was replaced by a stone church in 1277. In a royal letter dating from 1271, King Magnus Lagabøte expressed his satisfaction that the parishioners were going to replace the wood building with a stone one, and he urged the continuation and completion of the task. When it was finished in 1277, the church was dedicated to Saint Michael. Restoration work was carried out on the church between 1919 and 1953 by Georg Greve.[5][6]

Media gallery

Exterior

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Interior

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  Interior of Voss Church
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  Voss Church organ
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  Voss Church pulpit
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  Voss Church ceiling

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Vangskyrkja". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
3. Nina Aldin Thune. "Voss kirke". Kunsthistorie. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
4. "Voss kirke". Kunsthistorie. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
5. "Georg Jens Greve" (in Norwegian). Norsk kunstnerleksikon.
6. "Voss kyrkjestad" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 25 May 2020.