Seim Church ( no, Seim kyrkje) 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 activities, ...

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 evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

Alver Municipality Alver is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Knarvik. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø, Lindå ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

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 village of Seim. It is one of the four churches for the Knarvik

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 m ...

which is part of the

Nordhordland prosti Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

(

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 residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when 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 instance under Urnes Stave C ...

design in 1878 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 ...

Johannes Øvsthus Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

from

Hosanger Hosanger is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in what is now parts of Alver Municipality and Osterøy Municipality in Vest ...

. The church seats about 180 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1360, but it was likely built before that time. The first church was likely a wooden

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 a ...

and it was located about southeast of the present location of the church. This medieval building was probably built during the 13th century and it was torn down around the year 1610. After tearing down the old church, a new

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

building on the same location was built. (An alternate theory is that in 1610, the old stave church was renovated and enlarged that year, since the new building was about twice as large as the old one. If that is the case, the old church may have been turned into 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 ...

and

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in 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 usually located ...

with the addition becoming the new

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 ...

.) In 1839, the church building was damaged in a storm. It was repaired. By the 1860s, the church was in poor condition and could no longer be used during the winters so it was decided to build a new, larger church. The new church would be built a little closer to the village of Seim, about to the northwest. The new church was the third building to hold the name ''Seim church'' and it was completed in 1878. The construction work was led by Mons N. Skare and Ole Knudsen Lilleokse. The new building 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 on 16 July 1878. Sometime after the new church was completed, the old church was torn down. Historically, Seim Church belonged to the parish of

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

before 1749. In that year, it was separated from Hammer and transferred to

parish (as an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

). In 1885, Seim was transferred from Hosanger to

Alversund Alversund is a village in Alver municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland of the Lindås peninsula, along the shore of the Alverstraumen strait. The village sits between the villages of Alverstraumen (acr ...

parish. In 1964, the church was transferred to the Lindås parish.

Media gallery

Lindås - Seim kirke sett utover mot Lurefjorden.jpg Seim kyrkje.jpg Seim kyrkje1.jpg Seim kirke.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2021 Alver (municipality) Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1878 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References