Eid 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 ...

in Stad Municipality in

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

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

Nordfjordeid Nordfjordeid is the administrative centre of the municipality of Stad, Norway, Stad in Vestland county, western Norway. It is located at the end of the Eidsfjorden, an arm of the main Nordfjorden (Sogn og Fjordane), Nordfjorden, west of the large ...

. It is the church for the Eid

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 Nordfjord 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 Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1849 by the builder Claus Wiese using plans from 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 Linstow. The church seats about 550 people. This is the fifth church building to sit at Nordfjordeid.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1322, but it was likely built during the 12th century, making it one of the oldest church sites in Nordfjord. The first church building here was a wooden stave church was located at Myklebost, a hill a little to the northeast of the present church location. Not much is known about this church. The church was described as old and prosperous in a letter dated 1336. At some point in the 1300s, it was replaced, likely after a fire. The replacement church was built a short distance away in Mel, just north of the present church. Not much is known about this building either, but it was in use throughout the 1400s and 1500s. Around the year 1600, the old church building was torn down and a new building was constructed on the present site of the church. The new building was a timber-framed

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 ...

building with a tower in the center of the roof. The church was renovated in the 1680s, receiving a new floor and ceiling. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed by fire after a lightning strike in 1689. A new church was completed in 1692 on the same site as the previous church. It too was a wooden

church with a very similar design to the previous church. In 1814, this church served as an election church (). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly 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 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 in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

later that year. In the spring of 1846, the old church building was deemed to be too small for the congregation, so it was decided to tear down the old church and build a larger church. From May to October in 1849, the new church building was constructed alongside the old church which was torn down in the fall of 1849 after the new church was completed. The new building was a wooden long church that was originally designed to seat about 900 people )but with current fire codes, the number has been reduced). The building was designed by Claus Wiese who based the plans off some standardized drawings by Hans Linstow. The lead builder for the new church was Ole Olsen Løken. The church 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 on 29 October 1849 by the Bishop Peder Christian Hersleb Kjerschow. In 1915, a

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 ...

was built adjacent to the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

during a major restoration of the building. Electric heat and light were added to the building at the same time. The painter and woodcarver Lars T. Kinsarvik led the interior work of redecorating 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

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 ...

as well as building a new

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and new pews. On 24 November 2016, the church was broken into and vandalised, causing damages estimated to . A suspect was arrested by police the same day and confessed to the vandalism.

Media gallery

Eid kirke Nordfjordeid Sogn og Fjordane 2014-09-17.JPG Eid kyrkje (01).jpg Eid kyrkje (02).jpg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 01.jpg Eid kyrkje Nordfjord Wilse.jpeg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 02.jpg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 11.jpg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 06.jpg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 07.jpg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 08.jpg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 09.jpg Kirche in Nordfjordeid 10.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=August 2021 Stad, Norway Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1849 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches

History

Media gallery

See also

References