Oppheim 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 ...

Voss Municipality Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...

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 Oppheim, located on the northern shore of the lake

Oppheimsvatnet Oppheimsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Voss in Vestland county, Norway. The lake lies in the northern part of the municipality, about east of the village of Vinje. The European route E16 highway runs along the northern side of the ...

. It is the church for the Oppheim

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 (

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 white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1871 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 ...

Ole Vangberg. The church seats about 250 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1329, but it was built before that time. The first church was a wooden stave church that was likely built during the 13th century. It was located about northwest of the present site by the lake

. Little is known about that church and it was torn down in 1673. A new log church was constructed from 1673-1676 on the same site. An oral tradition says that it was built by Ole Botolvsen Sunde. The new church was a long church with a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

in the east and a tower in the west. The

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 ...

measured about and 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 ...

measured about . The parish hired Ole Vangberg to design the new church who used the same plans that were used for the nearby Vinje Church. Jon Alver was hired to lead the construction. From May to October 1871, a new church was built about to the southeast, on the shore of the lake Oppheimsvatnet. The present church in the new location 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 4 October 1871 by the local Dean Irgens. After the new church was completed, the old church was torn down. The old cemetery by the old church was in use until 1875 when the new cemetery surrounding the new church was put into use.

Media gallery

Oppheim kyrkje Lindahl.jpeg 8203 Parti fra Opheim - no-nb digifoto 20160308 00256 bldsa FAKnudsen 12.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Voss Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1871 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References