Skjee 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 ...

Sandefjord Municipality Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

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 Skjee. It is the church for the Skjee

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 Sandefjord 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 Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes all of the parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in the city of Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and ...

. 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 the year 1200 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 320 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 in the early 12th century and it was originally dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. The Romanesque stone church was built on top of the Raet, a large

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called an end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front e ...

left behind from the glaciers that retreated after the last

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. The church included 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 smaller rectangular

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

to the east of the nave. Originally, there was a main door, or portal, on the west end and on the south side of the nave. In 1664, the south portal was bricked up and closed and a new

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

was built on the west end of the nave. In 1673, Jarlsberg County was established on land that had belonged to the king. This meant that Skjee Church then became the property of the Count of

Jarlsberg Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway. The name translates as "Earl's Hill". The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarl ...

. For well over a hundred years, the church belonged to the county. In 1775, the church was sold to several larger landowners in the area who were parishioners of the church. Around 1845, the church was sold to the parish and the building at that time was deemed to be in need for improvements. In 1846 there was an extensive renovation, expanding the nave in width and length. The roof was removed and the long south wall of the nave was moved to the south. The new wall had large window openings. Also, the nave was extended to the east, incorporating the old

inside the same structure as the nave. In addition, it got a wooden west tower. Inside, second-floor seating galleries on two floors along the west and north walls. In 1932, the church was renovated again. A new stone

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 ...

was built to the east of the nave, since the old choir was part of the nave. In addition, furnishings such as the historic

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter 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 or sculpture, ...

and

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, accesse ...

were brought back into the church. In 1936, the old wooden tower in the west was taken down and a new stone tower was built to replace it.

Media gallery

Skjee kirke (12c. church) Stokke Ravei 419 fylkesvei 522 Sandefjord Norway. Cemetery (kirkegård) Stone fence (steingjerde) Spring Sunny Blue sky Etc 2019-05-16 DSC02076.jpg Skjee kirke (12c. church) Stokke Ravei 419 fylkesvei 522 Sandefjord Norway. Cemetery (kirkegård) Stone fence (steingjerde) Spring Sunny Blue sky Etc 2019-05-16 DSC02108.jpg Skjee kirke (12c. church) Stokke Ravei 419 fylkesvei 522 Sandefjord Norway. Cemetery (kirkegård) Spring Sunny Blue sky Etc 2019-05-16 DSC02086.jpg Fv290Gjennestadveien 003.jpg Skjee kirke (12c. church) Stokke Ravei 419 fylkesvei 522 Sandefjord Norway Door, entrance, wall Etc 2019-05-16 DSC02036.jpg Skjee kirke (12c. church) Stokke Ravei 419 fylkesvei 522 Sandefjord Norway. Window, door, wall Sunny Etc 2019-05-16 DSC02072.jpg Skjee kirke (12c. church) Stokke Sandefjord Norway, tower (tårn), cemetery (kirkegård), funeral flowers wreaths Sunny Blue sky Etc 2019-05-16 DSC02065.jpg Skjee kirke (church) Stokke Ravei 419 fylkesvei 522 Sandefjord Norway. cemetery (kirkegård), grave, funeral flowers (bårebuketter) Spring Sunny Blue sky Etc 2019-05-16 DSC02098.jpg Skjee kirke - RADT082 01 0007.jpg Skjee kirke før 1936.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=December 2023 Buildings and structures in Sandefjord Churches in Vestfold Long churches in Norway Stone churches in Norway 12th-century churches in Norway 12th-century establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References