Risør Church ( no, Risør kirke or ) is a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activitie ...
of the
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...
in
Risør Municipality in
Agder
Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("sou ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. It is located in the
town of Risør. It is one of the two churches for the Risør
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 ...
which is part of the
Aust-Nedenes prosti (
deanery
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 reside ...
) in the
Diocese of Agder og Telemark
The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth la ...
. The white, wooden church was built in a
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
design in 1647 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 450 people.
History
The area of Risør was part of the
Søndeled Church parish which was historically an annex of the
prestegjeld
A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas that ...
of
Gjerstad
Gjerstad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Sørlandet, in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with T ...
. The
town of Risør was growing during the 1600s and the nearest church was quite a distance away in
Søndeled. So, a new church was built in the town in 1647. The church was
consecrate
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
d in the summer of 1647 by the local
Provost Salve Thomæson from
Øyestad Church. The church was named ''Den Hellige Ånds kirke'' which means "Church of the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts ...
".
In 1721, the church received exterior panel siding. In 1733, the small tower on the roof was torn down and a new, larger tower was added over a new entry on the west end of the building. In 1739, a
sacristy was built on the east end of the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
...
. Both the tower and sacristy were built by Johannes Omholt. In 1794, merchant Nils Simonsen and his wife paid for a curved gate to be built in the opening between the
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...
and 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-typ ...
. At the top of the carved gate sat the royal monogram for
Christian VII
Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae''" ...
. The gate was removed in 1848, but the monogram was kept and hung on the wall by the gallery stairs. In 1855, the interior walls were clad with panels. In 1880, the interior balcony seating was rebuilt. The church was renovated and restored in 1928 under the direction of 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 Øvergaard.
Election church
In 1814, this church served as an
election church
An election church ( no, valgkirke) 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 election ...
( no, valgkirke).
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 (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...
which wrote the
Constitution of Norway
nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov
nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov
, jurisdiction = Kingdom of Norway
, date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814
, date_ratified =16 May 1814
, system =Constitutional monarchy
, ...
. This was Norway's first national elections. Each
church parish 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 municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.
General information ...
later that year.
Media gallery
Risør kirke 2.JPG, Exterior view
Risør kirke ovenfra august 2017.jpg, Aerial view of the church
See also
*
List of churches in Agder og Telemark
This list of churches in Agder og Telemark is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Agder and Vestfold og Telemark counties in southern Norway. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the cit ...
References
{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021
Risør
Churches in Agder
Wooden churches in Norway
Cruciform churches in Norway
17th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Churches completed in 1647
1647 establishments in Norway
Norwegian election church