Raufoss 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 ...

Vestre Toten Municipality Vestre Toten is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rau ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

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 town of

Raufoss Raufoss is a town in Vestre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality. It is located about south of the larger town of Gjøvik. The town is located along the municipal border wi ...

. It is the church for the Raufoss

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 Toten 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 Hamar The Diocese of Hamar () is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

. The white, stone 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 1939 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 ...

Henry Bucher Henry Bertram Bucher (February 9, 1864 – October 29, 1944) was a Norwegian architect. After studying under Ludvig Haslund and August Tidemand, Bucher studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in Christiania and ...

. The church seats about 450 people.

History

The village of Raufoss grew up during the 19th century around some large industries. A cemetery was

consecrated 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 (a ...

in Raufoss on 5 February 1897. A year later, a small burial chapel was built, just behind where the church now stands. It was a building with a high tower. It had no seating, and it is said that there was barely room for the coffin and the next of kin to be indoors. During funerals, the doors were left open so others could stand outside. When Ås Church was struck by lightning and burned in 1915, demands were made by the people in Raufoss for their own church in their growing village. Times were difficult, however, and it was not until 1930 that a church committee was appointed. The church was designed by

and final approval was granted in 1932. However, it took four more years before the municipality's financing plan was approved. so construction did not start for a while. The builder Ingvar Dybdahl was responsible for the construction.

Domenico Erdmann Domenico Juul Erdmann (March 23, 1879 – October 5, 1940) was a Norwegians, Norwegian painter, designer, decorator, and conservation adviser. He was a technical consultant and executive conservator in a number of Norwegian churches.Tore Kirkho ...

was a consultant for the interior decoration and color scheme. The

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid on 16 October 1937, and the church was

on 11 June 1939 by Bishop Henrik Hille. The old burial chapel was demolished after the new church was completed.

Media gallery

Vestre Toten Raufoss kirke rk 85275 IMG 9316.JPG Vestre Toten Raufoss kirke rk 85275 IMG 9319.JPG Vestre Toten Raufoss kirke rk 85275 IMG 9321.JPG Raufoss kirke med rimfrost på gresset.jpeg Raufoss kirke - 2012-09-30 at 15-39-59.jpg Raufoss kirke - 2012-09-30 at 15-38-14.jpg Raufoss church.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2022 Vestre Toten Churches in Innlandet Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1939 1939 establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References