Rennebu 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 ...

Rennebu Municipality Rennebu is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Orkdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Berkåk, located ...

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 Voll, along the river Orkla. It is the main church for the Rennebu

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 Gauldal 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 red, wooden church was built in a Y-shaped design in 1669 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 ...

s Titus Bülche and Ole Jonsen Hindrum. It is the oldest of the four existing Y-shaped churches in Norway. The church seats about 292 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1297, but the church was not new that year. The first church in Rennebu 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 ...

that was likely built during the 12th century. The first church was located at Voll, about to the northeast of the present church site. A preserved portal from the old stave church that is now in a museum is dated to approximately 1120-1150, meaning the church was likely constructed around that time. From 1668-1669, a new Y-shaped wooden church was constructed about southwest of the old church. After the new church was completed, the old stave church was torn down. Some of the interior furniture from the old stave church was reused in the new church. The church was originally only tarred on the outside, but later, the walls were paneled and painted red. The rare Y-shape of the building has three arms. The eastern arm contains 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 ...

and

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 ...

. The other two arms were 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 ...

. The southwestern arm had an entry porch attached and this was the main entrance to the church. In the 1870s, an entry porch was added to the northwestern arm as well. During the renovation of 1873–1881, the paneling on the outer walls was replaced, and the church exterior was painted white. In addition, the interior walls were clad with paneling, and a neo-Gothic cross partition, new benches, and pointed arched windows were installed. The church was restored in 1948-1952 under the leadership of

John Tverdahl John Egil Tverdahl (1890 in Trondheim – 1969) was a Norwegian architect. Tverdahl designed many churches as well as led the restoration of several churches that were located in Nordmøre, Trøndelag, and Nordland in northern Norway. Tverdahl w ...

. During this restoration, it was brought back to its original design including the exterior red color. Inside the church, the wall paneling and the neo-Gothic cross partition were removed, the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

with ceiling was restored, the windows were changed and the church was given new pews.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=June 2021 Rennebu Churches in Trøndelag Y-shaped churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1669 12th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References