Skei 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 ...

Steinkjer Municipality or is a municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Steinkjer (town), town of Steinkjer which is located on the inne ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

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 Skei. It is the main church for the Ogndal

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

Stiklestad prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Trøndelag county. The diocese is based at the Nidaros Cathedral in the city of Trondheim (city), T ...

(

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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. 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 ...

style in 1664 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 290 people.

History

It is not known exactly when the first church was built at Skei, but in existing historical records from 1490 "Skeide Sokn" is mentioned, and

Olav Engelbrektsson Olav Engelbrektsson (, Trondenes, Norway – 7 February 1538, Lier, Belgium, Lier, Duchy of Brabant, Habsburg Netherlands) was the 28th Archdiocese of Nidaros, Archbishop of Norway from 1523 to 1537, the List of Norwegian monarchs, Regent of Norwa ...

has in its Domesday Book from 1533 referred to the farm "church Skeiid". Skei Church is mentioned in connection with the will of the Crown (the King's property) by the Reformation (1536). The name ''Skei'' suggests that this place may have been a meeting place also in pre-Christian times. Skei means "contest or the event center," which probably suggests something about the use, even if the site is not known as a place of worship. The existing

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

in the church today is dated to the years 1250-1275, so it is likely that the first church was built here during the 13th century on the same site as the present building. In 1664, the old

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 ...

was torn down and replaced with a new building on the same site. The new building was described as being "spacious" and having a very nice tower. In 1725, the church was sold during the

Norwegian church auction The Norwegian church sale () was a comprehensive and systematic sale of most of the church properties in Norway during the 1720s. The purpose of this sale was the intention of improving the poor public finances in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway afte ...

, and the first private owner, Colonel Claus Janus Gedde who also bought

Mære Church Mære Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Steinkjer Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Mære. It is the church for the Mære parish which is part of the Stiklestad prosti (deanery) in ...

and

Henning Church Henning Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Steinkjer Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Henning. It is the church for the Henning parish which is part of the Stiklestad prosti (deanery ...

. Over the next 75 years, the church was owned in turn by Casper Heirich von Westerwald (1735-1772), Andrew Bull (owner for only two days), Jorgen Urne Westerwaldt (1772-1776), Theodore Bergmann Holst (1776-1786), and David Andrew Gram (1786-1803). In 1803, the local congregation bought the church for 3,150 rigsdalers. In 1885, a new

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 constructed. On 1 January 1901, the local municipality took over the ownership of the church. In 1911, the church was renovated. The old tower was torn down and a new tower on the west end of the building was constructed. Inside, the ceiling height was raised about . Electric lights were added in the 1920s and electric heat was added in 1955.

References

{{Authority control Steinkjer Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 17th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1664 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References