Malm 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 ...

Steinkjer Municipality or is a municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Steinkjer (town), town of Steinkjer which is located on the inne ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

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

Malm is a village in Steinkjer Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village of Malm is located along the Beitstadsundet strait which flows into the Trondheimsfjorden. The village of Bartnes lies across the strait from Malm. The village li ...

. It is the main church for the Malm

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 Stiklestad 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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. 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 ...

style in 1886 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 ...

Rasmus Overrein. The church seats about 350 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1533, but the church was not new that year. The first church for Malm was a

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 ...

located at Reit, about south of the present-day church site and it was built possibly during the 15th century. The church stood at Reit for centuries and then by the mid-1600s, the church was in poor condition so it was decided to build a new church. In 1660, a new wooden church was built at Bartnes, the 2nd largest farm in the whole parish. Bartnes is located about east of the old church site, on the opposite site of the Beitstadsundet

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

. The old church was not torn down right away, but for some time it was maintained as a burial chapel. Eventually it was taken down. The new church at Bartnes was not well maintained. In 1722, the fairly new church was renovated completely. In 1850, it was again decided to move the church. This time the church would be moved to the village of

(on the west side of the strait). In the fall and winter of 1850, the building was disassembled, transported across the ice on the strait, and rebuilt in the village of Malm. It was put back in to use in 1851. The cemetery that surrounded the old Bartnes church remained in use as an auxiliary cemetery (and many years later a new

Bartnes Church Bartnes Church () is a chapel of the Church of Norway in Steinkjer Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bartnes. It is an annex chapel for the Beitstad parish which is part of the Stiklestad prosti (deanery ...

was built on that site once again). After moving the church to Malm, the building was soon found to be too small for the congregation. A new

was built beside the old one and it was completed in 1886. It was designed by Rasmus Overrein using the same design that was used on the nearby Kvam Church. The last worship service in the old church was on 22 August 1886. The new 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 17 September 1886 by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Niels Laache. Afterwards, the old church was disassembled (again) and sold to a parish in

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly Districts of Norway, district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet moun ...

where it was rebuilt as Skålvær Church. In 1956, the church was expanded. A new church hall was added on the eastern end of the building and a basement was dug under the

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 ...

that houses a kitchen and bathrooms.

Media gallery

Malm kirke 1.jpg Malm kirke 2.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2021 Steinkjer Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1886 15th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References