Old Gaupne Church () is a historic

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 ...

Luster Municipality Luster is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative centre is the village of Gaupne. Other villages in Luster include Fortun, Hafslo, Indre ...

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

Gaupne Gaupne is the administrative center of the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Gaupnefjorden, an arm of the Lustrafjorden, about north of the village of Hafslo. The village of Veitastrond is lo ...

. It was the main church for the Luster

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

Sogn prosti Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (''Vestlandet''). It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestran ...

(

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 ...

) until it was replaced in 1907. The brown, 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 about 1650 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 130 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1306, but the church was not new at that time. The first church on this site 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 second half of the 12th century. Around the year 1647, the old church was torn down and replaced with 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 ...

. The new building (now known as the "Old Gaupne Church") was built using several of the parts from the old stave church, including the side planks of the western portals. These planks, dating back to the second half of the 12th century, are now one of the standout features of the church, infused with detailed carvings of snakes and dragons. The church construction began in 1647, but it likely wasn't completely finished until 1652. The new building had a

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 measured about and a square

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 ...

that measured about . This "old" church was used from 1647 until 1907 when the new Gaupne Church was completed, about to the northeast of the site of the old church. After the "new" church was in use, the "old" church was given for free to the

Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments () is an organization focused on conservation preservation in Norway. The Society was founded in 1844. The founders were painters, historians, art historians and archeologists, including ...

in 1909. After this, the church underwent some significant restorations, particularly with the foundation and exterior siding. The society cares for the site and the parish uses the church for special occasions. The Old Gaupne Church is now well known for the annual St. Olaf's Day service that is held there. The church interior now largely resembles its historic 17th-century appearance. The walls are richly decorated with drawings and Bible verses.

Media gallery

Gaupne gamle kyrkje.JPG Gaupne stavkyrkjeportal.jpg Gaupne kirke. Eksteriør - NB MS G4 0749.jpg Gaupne kirke. Eksteriør - NB MS G4 0750 (cropped).jpg Gaupne kirke. Eksteriør - NB MS G4 0751.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2021 Luster, Norway Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1652 12th-century establishments in Norway Gaupne Church

History

Media gallery

See also

References