Dalsfjord 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 ...

Volda Municipality Volda is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre is the Volda (village), village of Volda. Other v ...

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

Dravlaus Dravlaus is a village in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the Dalsfjorden, about south of the village of Lauvstad. The Dravlausdalen valley runs west from Dravlaus, along the Dravlauselva rive ...

, on the western shore of the Dalsfjorden. It is the church for the Dalsfjord

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 Søre Sunnmøre 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 Diocese of Møre () is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center of Molde. , the Bisho ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

design in 1910 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 ...

Ole Havnæs OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

. The church seats about 400 people. The building was

consecrate Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

d by the Bishop

Johan Willoch Erichsen Johan Willoch Erichsen (15 February 1842 – 22 August 1916) was a Norwegian bishop and theologian in the Church of Norway. He was Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1899 until shortly before his death in 1916. Life and family Erichse ...

History

Dalsfjord did not have a church during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

so the people of the Dalsfjord area used the main

Volda Church Volda Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Volda, along the northeastern shore of the Voldsfjorden. It is the church for the Volda parish a ...

that was located about away, on the other side of the fjord. It is said, however, that a wooden cross had been erected on the site during the Middle Ages, and that in Catholic times (pre-Reformation) this site was a gathering place for people. Sometimes the priest showed up at this site and held Mass in the open air. This may have happened even after the

Reformation in Norway The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. When the nearby Austefjord Chapel was built in 1879, the people of Dalsfjord noticed and began to push for their own chapel and cemetery. This plan was rejected a couple of times, but after years of struggle, Dalsfjord was separated from Volda as a separate parish on 1 January 1910. After gaining parish status, the planning for a new church began. The foundation stone for the new church was laid in February 1910. The church was designed by

and the lead builders were Petter Strømme and Jens Strømsheim. The building was 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 ...

church. Dalsfjord Church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on 29 December 1910. The exterior was originally painted yellow, but later it was repainted in white. The church was extensively renovated in 1963.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=August 2021 Volda Churches in Møre og Romsdal Wooden churches in Norway Cruciform churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1910 1910 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References