Sel Church ( no, Sel 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 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. ...

Sel Municipality Sel is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Otta. The municipality also includes several notable villages including ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The n ...

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 Selsverket. It is the church for the Sel

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

Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar which includes all of Innlandet county (plus two municipalities in Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each ...

(

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 Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) 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 in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divided ...

. 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 1742 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 ...

Knut Syversen Moen. The church seats about 250 people.

History

The first church in Sel was 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 ...

that was likely built in the 13th century. The first church was built at the Romundgård farm in Nord-Sel, about northwest of the present site of the church. In 1628, the old church underwent a major renovation, rebuilding most of the church. This project was completed in 1630. By 1723, the church was described as being in poor condition when the King put the church up for sale at an auction to help raise money to pay down the debt from the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

. The church was purchased by the villagers of the parish for 1400

riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thale ...

. Immediately, the new owners began talking about the poor condition of the building and the idea of moving the church. During the late-1600s, the copper smelter in Selsverket drew a lot of the population further down the valley and so many villagers wanted to move the church closer to the main population center. The parish received permission to move the church in 1738. In 1742, 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 ...

church was built at Selsverket. The builders are said to have been the homeowners Knut Syversen Moen (who designed the building) and Jo Hansen Moen. The church was a cruciform design made out of five squares, a center square measuring and then another square of the same size on each side of it, creating a cross design. The new church was taken into use in 1742 before it was completely finished. A lot of the church inventory (

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

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, access ...

, and

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring) ...

) were brought with from the old church in Romundgård and put into use in the new church. After the new church was completed, the old church was torn down. In 1870, exterior paneling was installed to help improve the insulation of the church. The church was restored in 1915–1920. It then got a new floor, 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 ...

floor was raised, and electric light was installed. The church was restored again in 1980, this time it was re-insulated to ensure it was able to be used on the coldest of days. On 20 February 2020, the church was almost set on fire in a case of attempted arson. The man who attempted to set fire to the church was a

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Soma ...

national who came to Norway in 2015. The man claimed to have seen on the news that a Norwegian had burned a

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

and had not been punished. This greatly angered him and it led him to set fire to the nearby Dombås Church (causing lots of damage) as well as attempt to set fire to the Sel Church. The man admitted to these crimes and was sentenced to four years and two months in prison. Dombås Church was repaired and rebuilt in 2020–2021, costing about .

Media gallery

Sel kirke rk 85413 IMG 1366.JPG Sel kirke rk 85413 IMG 1362.JPG Sel kirke rk 85413 IMG 1361.JPG Sel kyrkje.jpg Sel(01).JPG Sel kirke - no-nb digifoto 20151009 00055 NB MIT FNR 05013.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=December 2021 Sel Churches in Innlandet Cruciform churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 18th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1742 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References