Sødorp Chapel ( no, Sødorp kapell) is a chapel 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 evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

in Nord-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the town of Vinstra. It is an annex chapel for the Sødorp parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti (

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 residenc ...

) 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 brown, wooden chapel was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when 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 instance under Urnes Stave C ...

design in 1929 using plans drawn up by the architect Knut Villa. The chapel seats about 169 people.

History

The old Sødorp Church was built on this site in 1752 and it stood on this site until 1908 when it was disassembled and moved to a site closer to the centre of the village of Vinstra. After the church was moved away, the local residents began thinking about building an annex chapel on the site to serve the eastern part of Vinstra. In the late 1920s, permission was granted and planning began. Knut Villa was hired to design the building. The chapel was built and financed by volunteers and donations. By the late 1960s, the chapel was too small and it was expanded from 1970-1972. The architect for this project was Trygve Kleiven, and after the expansion the chapel was re-

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

by Bishop

Alexander Lange Johnson Alexander Lange Johnson (26 October 1910 – 20 April 1989) was a Norwegian priest, resistance member during World War II, bishop of Hamar, and biographer. He was born in Antsirabe, Madagascar. He played a leading role in the Norwegian civil ...

on 29 August 1972. In 2009, the chapel was refurbished and expanded again, also using drawings by Trygve Kleiven. This brought the number of seats up to 169 as well as added a handicap-accessible bathroom. The renovation was completed and the church went back into use on 4 October 2009.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=December 2021 Nord-Fron Churches in Innlandet Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 20th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1929 1929 establishments in Norway

History

See also

References