Hen 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 Rauma Municipality in

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 Isfjorden, about east of the town of Åndalsnes. It is the church for the Hen

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 Indre Romsdal 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 white, stone church was built in a long church design in 1831 using plans drawn up by an unknown

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 ...

. The church seats about 200 people.

History

There has been a church in this village for centuries. There are some artifacts from the church dating back to the 13th century that are now at the

Romsdal Museum The Romsdal Museum () is a museum in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The museum is based in Molde Municipality, but it has sites all over the region. History The museum was founded by Peter Tønder Solemdal (1876-1963 ...

and the oldest existing written records of the church date back to 1589. The first church building on the site was a wooden stave church that was located about north of the present church site. That building measured about and was said to be quite similar to the Rødven Stave Church. Over the years, a number of repairs were carried out on the church, most of them due to rot damage. In 1739, a timber-framed

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 added on the north side of 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 ...

. Starting in 1830, work on a new rectangular stone church constructed out of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

was carried out. The new church was built about south of the old church, just outside the churchyard which surrounded the old church. This new, white stone church has an onion dome on top of a central tower on the roof. Much of the construction was completed by 1831, but the new building was not formally

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 ...

until 21 October 1835. After the new building was completed, the old wooden church was torn down. The building is a neo-Romanesque stone long church that has been covered in white plaster on the exterior. 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, ...

was newly built for the new church in 1831. In 1902, the church was expanded with the addition of a new church porch and

. In 1931, the church interior was restored, including 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 ...

. In 1959–1960, the sacristy was expanded and the church porch was rebuilt.

Media gallery

Hen kyrkje.jpg, Exterior view New-copper-on-church-2.jpg, Onion dome Henkirke-1-Norway.jpg, Side view Henkirke-3-Norway.jpg Hen kirke, Møre og Romsdal - Riksantikvaren-T327 01 0037.jpg Hen - no-nb digifoto 20151105 00159 NB MIT FNR 06547.jpg Hen kirke, Møre og Romsdal - Riksantikvaren-T327 01 0038.jpg Hen, Isfjord - no-nb digifoto 20151105 00026 NB MIT FNR 06443.jpg Hen, Isfjorden - no-nb digifoto 20151105 00144 NB MIT FNR 06546.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=July 2021 Rauma, Norway Churches in Møre og Romsdal Stone churches in Norway Long churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1831 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References