Selje 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 ...

Stad Municipality Stad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality includes much of the northern shore of the Nordfjorden as well as the Stad peninsula. The administrative centre of the ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

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 Selje. It is the church for the Selje

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 Nordfjord 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 Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () 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, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

. The white, wooden 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 in 1866 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 ...

Frederik Hannibal Stockfleth. The church seats about 420 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to around the year 1100, but the church may have been built as early as the year 996. Selje Church is mentioned in the 10th century saga,

Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'' is the name of several kings' sagas on the life of Óláfr Tryggvason, a 10th-century Norwegian king. Latin lives of Óláfr Tryggvason were written by Oddr Snorrason and by Gunnlaugr Leifsson; both are now lost, b ...

. The first church in Selje was located on the small island of Selja, just off the coast of the present-day village of Selje. From the 12th until the 16th century, the old

Selje Abbey Selja Abbey (''Selja kloster'') was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery located on the island of Selja, Selje, Selja in the municipality of Stad, Norway, Stad, Vestland, Norway. The island of Selja, which has been formerly known as Se ...

was a major religious center for the region. Around the 1100s, the old church was moved to the village of Bø on the island of Selja, not far from the Abbey and it was rebuilt as 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 ...

. This church was located on the south side of the island, and it was known as the ''Fylkeskyrkja'' (the county church). The church had a

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 ...

that measured about and a choir that measured about . By the year 1340, the church was described by the archbishop as being in poor condition due to neglect. By the mid-1500s, the small island was no longer inhabited and parishioners had to travel by boat to the church from the mainland. Due to its age and condition, and that there were no longer residents on the island, in 1654 it was decided to tear down the church and to build a replacement church at Hove on the mainland, about across the bay, approximately where the present church stands today. The new church was completed in 1654 and the old church was also torn down that year. 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 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 ...

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 1865, it was decided that the old church was in need of replacement. The new church was designed by Frederik Hannibal Stockfleth and the lead builder was Rasmus Sætre from

Stryn Stryn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the vi ...

. The builder was paid 6150

speciedaler The rigsdaler specie was a unit of silver currency used in Norway from 1544, renamed as the speciedaler in 1816 and used until 1873. Norway used a common reichsthaler currency system shared with Denmark, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until 1873 w ...

for the work. Construction of the new church took place during the winter of 1865, right next to the old church. It was completed by the April of 1866. The last worship service in the old church took place on 22 April 1866. The new building was

consecrate Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

d on 13 May 1866 by the Bishop

Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland (14 January 1807 – 5 January 1896) was a Norwegian priest in the Church of Norway. He served as Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1864–1880. Early life and family Peter Birkeland was born in Borgund Muni ...

. The old church was then taken down and moved to

Leikanger Leikanger () is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Hermansverk, which also was th ...

where it was rebuilt become the present

Leikanger Church Leikanger Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sogndal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Leikanger, along the northern coast of the Sognefjorden. It is the church for the Leikanger parish ...

. At the time of its completion in 1866, the new church was one of the largest in the Diocese of Bergenhus. The

measured and a ceiling height of . The choir had a

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 ...

built on either side of it. The new church was renovated and expanded in 1887 and 1895. In 1954, electric lights and heating was added to the building. The church was renovated again in 1966.

Media gallery

Selje church 02 Sogn og Fjordane Norway 2014-09-16.JPG Selje kyrkje 16.04.2016 (08).jpg Selje kyrkje1 (cropped).jpg Selje kyrkje 1.jpg, Winter view of the church Selje kyrkje1.jpg, View of the church with small boat houses along the shore Naust i Selje.JPG, View from the southeast Selje kyrkje-24.jpg, Front of the church Selje kyrkje-45.jpg, Side view of the church Selje kyrkje-42.jpg, Close up side view of the church Selje kyrkje.jpg, Close up of the church Selje kyrkje altertavle.jpg, Interior view of altar table

References

{{use dmy dates, date=August 2021 Stad, Norway Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1866 10th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election churches

History

Media gallery

See also

References