Stårheim 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

Stårheim Stårheim (or ''Torvika'') is a village in the municipality of Stad in Vestland county, Norway. Stårheim is located in the central part of Stad Municipality on the north shore of the Nordfjorden, about west of the municipal center of Nordfjor ...

. It is the church for the Stårheim

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 1864 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 ...

Christian Heinrich Grosch Christian Heinrich Grosch (21 January 1801 – 4 May 1865) was a Norwegian architect. He was a dominant figure in Norwegian architecture in the first half of the 1800s. Biography Christian Heinrich Grosch was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. ...

. The church seats about 350 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1324, but the church was not new that year. The first church 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 12th century. That old church was in use until 1338. Not much is known about the original church, but in 1338

Erling Vidkunsson Erling Vidkunsson (1293–1355) was the Norwegian nobleman and regent of Norway. He received the position of High Justiciar (''drottsete'') of the country. He was Lord of Bjarkøy and Giske and was probably the most important and wealthy Norwe ...

wrote a letter to Bishop Haakon in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

that some robbers had broken into the church and set it on fire. A second

was built on the same site in 1341 to replace the one that burned. This new church was designated as an

annex chapel A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to travel distance. Often a ...

for the Eid Church parish. Around the year 1600, the old church was torn down and a new

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

was built on the same site. On 10 January 1859, a large fire heavily damaged the structure. Planning for a new church began soon after.

was hired as the architect and Gjert Lien was hired as the lead builder. Construction took place in 1864. The new building was

consecrated 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 (a ...

on 4 December 1864 by the

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Wilhelm Frimann Koren. In 1946, electric light and heat were installed in the church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staarheim Church Stad, Norway Churches in Vestland Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1864 12th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References