Manger Church
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Manger 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
Alver Municipality Alver is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Knarvik. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø, Lindà ...
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
Manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...
on the island of
Radøy Radøy is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Nordhordland district of the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new municipal ...
. It is one of the four churches in the Radøy
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
Nordhordland prosti Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...
(
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 ...
style in 1891 using designs 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 ...
Hans Heinrich Jess who was from
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
. The church seats about 440 people.


History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1350, but it was not new that year. The first church in Manger 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 likely built during the 12th century. Around the year 1600, the old church was torn down and replaced with a new building on the same site. In 1648-1649 a major repair was done on the tower. In 1685, the church underwent a major repair of the roof, exterior siding, and floor. In 1724, the church was sold by the state to the local parish priest, Hans Withe. This happened during the
Norwegian church auction The Norwegian church sale () was a comprehensive and systematic sale of most of the church properties in Norway during the 1720s. The purpose of this sale was the intention of improving the poor public finances in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway afte ...
when the King was trying to raise money to pay off debts from the
Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
. On 18 January 1738, a
lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
strike hit the church and the structure burned down. After the fire, the site was cleared and planning began for a new building. This time, the parish chose to build a stone building. Work on the new church began in 1741 and it was completed in 1743. The new 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 on 5 November 1743. The new church was a rectangular
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 ...
with a
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 ...
and
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 ...
that had the same width and height. Above the west gable stood a small tower. The church had room for 91 standing and 180 seated people. In 1814, this church served as an
election church An election church () is a term used for approximately 300 churches in Norway that were used as polling stations during the elections to the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national elections and this ass ...
(). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814
Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...
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 A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
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. Again in 1822, the church caught fire by a lightning strike. This damaged the tower and part of the masonry structure, but the damage was not severe and it was quickly repaired. In 1885, the church was sold back to the municipality from private ownership. Immediately afterwards, the parish decided that the church was too small, and it needed to be enlarged. After some planning, it was determined that enlarging the old church would be more expensive than tearing it down and building a new wooden church. In 1891, the old church was torn down and replaced by a new wooden one. The architect Hans Heinrich Jess from Bergen was commissioned to make the architectural drawings and Karl Askeland was hired to lead the construction work. 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 27 October 1891. In 1950-1957, the northern
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 replaced with an addition that included a church hall with a kitchen and hallway.


Media gallery

Manger 29 To Bergen (5672350914).jpg Manger kyrkjegard.JPG Manger bakover.JPG Alter Manger.jpg Gamal altartavle Manger.JPG Manger kyrkje skreiv.jpg Manger kyrkje frå galleriet.JPG Orgelfront Manger.JPG Prekestol Manger.jpg


See also

*
List of churches in Bjørgvin The list of churches in Bjørgvin is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Bjørgvin in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Vestland county. The Diocese is based at the Bergen Cathedral in the city of Bergen (city), Berg ...


References

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2021 Alver (municipality) Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1891 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches