Sauherad 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 ...

Midt-Telemark Municipality Midt-Telemark is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Midt-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the villag ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

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

Sauherad Sauherad is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It was part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Midt-Telemark. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. ...

. It is one of the churches for the Nes og Sauherad

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 Øvre Telemark 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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

. 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 around 1150 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 260 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1398, but the church was not built that year. The church was likely built around the year 1150, making it one of the oldest existing churches in

. The church has a rectangular

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 ...

and a narrower, rectangular

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 has a lower roof line. The church did not originally have a bell tower, but the current bells were made in 1441, so that could be when the bell tower on the centre of the nave roof was constructed. In 1657, the

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

burned down. In 1711, the roof was replaced and stone was installed on top of the roof to replace the old roof tiles. In 1739, the roof trusses were replaced and iron girders were installed on the walls to help reinforce the cracking in the walls. In 1781, the west wall of the nave was torn down and the nave was enlarged to the west. In 1814, this church served as an

election church An election church () 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 elections and this ass ...

(). 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 ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

which wrote the

Constitution of Norway The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...

. 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 Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

later that year. In 1830, the interior was renovated using plans by Hans Linstow, changing much of the interior furniture. In 1849, a new wooden

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 ...

was built on the east end of the

Media gallery

Sauherad kirke.jpg Detalje fra Sauherad Kirke.JPG Sauherad kirke - valgkirke.jpg Sauherad Kirke. Maling på klokkerstolen - no-nb digifoto 20150225 00055 NB MIT FNR 10930 A.jpg Sauherad Kirke. St.Johannes og St. Philip - no-nb digifoto 20150225 00087 NB MIT FNR 10931.jpg Sauherad Kirke. Rankemåling i korbogjen - no-nb digifoto 20150225 00060 NB MIT FNR 10938.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=November 2022 Midt-Telemark Churches in Telemark Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 12th-century churches in Norway Buildings and structures completed in 1150 Churches completed in the 1150s 12th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches

History

Media gallery

See also

References