Berg 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 ...

Senja Municipality Senja is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of Berg, Lenvik, Torsken, and Tranøy were merged into one municipality. It is located in the traditional district of Hålogaland. ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

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

Skaland or is a village in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The village is located on the shores of the Bergsfjorden on the northwest side of the Senja (island), island of Senja, about to the southwest of the village of Senjahopen and about ...

. It is the church for the Berg

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 Senja 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 Nord-Hålogaland () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms and Finnmark counties as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø at the Tromsø Cathedral, t ...

. The white, stone 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 1955 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 ...

Hans Magnus. The church seats about 225 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church was not new that year. It was likely founded in the 15th century. The church was originally located along the rocky shoreline of the island about northwest of the present church site. The church was a

with a small steeple over 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 ...

and an entry porch. Starting in the mid-1600s, the local parishioners began complaining of the poor condition of the old church, however nothing was done. Inspections of the building in 1753 and 1770 again noted that the church had fallen into disrepair. The priest at that time had requested that the church be moved to a location that was less rocky so that a cemetery around the church could be built. The priest's wish was not followed, however. The old church was torn down in 1780 and a new church was built in 1780–1781 on the same site. This was also a

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

long church where the

measured about and the

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 ...

measured about . It also had a small

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 ...

. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church () is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national elections and this ass ...

(). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

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 A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

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 at

Eidsvoll Manor Eidsvollsbygningen (Literally: ''The Eidsvoll building'') is a historic manor house located at Eidsvoll in Akershus county, Norway. The building is where the Constitution of Norway was signed on 17 May 1814. The estate is now owned by The State o ...

later that year. In 1844, the church was thoroughly repaired and at the same time a new tower on the west end was constructed along with a new sacristy. In 1884, the church was renovated and expanded. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1942, the church was demolished by the occupying German army. After the war, a new church was built at Skaland, about southeast of the old church site. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

carved in wood was decorated by Torvald Kildal Moseid (1917-2000). Moseid also designed the stained glass in the church. The organ is a pneumatic organ from . The church bell is from

Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry The Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry () is a Norway, Norwegian Bellfounding, bell foundry located in the municipality of Tønsberg. The foundry was established in 1844 by Ole Olsen, and it is headed today by the sixth generation of the Olsen Nauen fam ...

(''Olsen Nauen Klokkestøperi'').

Media gallery

Berg kirkested - 83875.jpg Berg kirke Skaland (cropped).jpg Berg kirke, Skaland.JPG Berg gml kirke T436 01 0004.jpg, View of the church that stood from 1780 to 1942)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=February 2021 Senja Churches in Troms Stone churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1955 15th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches Long churches in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References