Jondal 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 ...

Ullensvang Municipality Ullensvang is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre is the town of Odda. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Lofthus, Utne, Vikebygd, ...

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

Jondal Jondal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1863 until its dissolution in 2020 when it became part of Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It ...

, near the shore of the

Hardangerfjorden The Hardangerfjord () is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the List of Norwegian fjords, second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mou ...

. It is the church for the Jondal

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

Hardanger og Voss prosti Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is l ...

(

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 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 ...

design in 1888 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 ...

s T. Solheim and Torjus Tengesdal. The church seats about 500 people, which makes it the largest church in

Hardanger Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is ...

, leading it to sometimes be called the ''Hardanger Cathedral'' ().

History

The first church in Jondal was a wooden

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

that was built 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 ...

. The exact date of construction is not known, but the earliest existing historical records show that it was in use in 1309, so it must have been built sometime before that time. The church was likely established during the 13th century. The church had open air corridors surrounding the whole building. The old stave church was in use for centuries until it was torn down in 1725 because it was in such poor condition. A new church was built on the same site to replace the old church. This church was completed in 1726 and it 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 ...

that was built on the same foundation as the previous stave church. That church was used until 1888 when it too was torn down to make room for the present church which is much larger. The present church was built in 1888 by the architects Solheim and Tengesdal. The white, wooden 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 18 July 1888. In 1978, the

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

under the tower was enlarged to create room for bathrooms and a coat room.

Media gallery

FV105 Jondal kirke.jpg, Exterior view Jondal.jpg, Church neighborhood Jondal gamle kirke.jpg, Old church (before 1887)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Ullensvang Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway Churches completed in 1726 Buildings and structures demolished in 1888 Churches completed in 1888 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References