Tovdal 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 ...

Åmli Municipality Åmli is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative cen ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

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

Hillestad Hillestad may refer to: Places * Hillestad, Agder, a village in the municipality of Åmli in Agder county, Norway *''Hillestad Church'', an old name for Tovdal Church in Åmli municipality in Agder county, Norway * Hillestad, Vestfold, a village i ...

. It is one of the churches for the Åmli

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 Aust-Nedenes 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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

. 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 1820 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 105 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1594, but the church was not new that year. The first church on this site was a

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 may have been built in the 13th century. The church was known as the ''Hillestad'' church since it was located on the Hillestad farm and the parish was historically known as ''Lille Topdal''. In 1723, the King sold the church during the Norwegian church auction to raise money to pay off his war debts. In 1780, the people of the parish raised money to purchase the church from private ownership and since then it has been owned by the parish. In 1802 the church was described as being in good condition, but by 1818 the church had plans to add on to the old building by building a new

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 to use the old church as the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The church began to work on this, but they were rebuked by the Bishop for failing to obtain the proper permits from the diocese. As they began to work on the building, it was deemed in such poor condition that they just tore down the whole building in 1820. Immediately after the old building was taken down, construction on a new wooden church was begun on the same site. It is not known who designed the building, but some have speculated that it was Gjermund Gunnarson Veum who built the nearby Gjøvdal Church several years earlier. The new church 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 4 March 1827. The name of the parish was changed to Tovdal and since then the church has been known as ''Tovdal Church''. Originally, the church was unpainted on the exterior, but in 1837, the church exterior was painted red. In 1854, the church was painted white. The church underwent some restoration work during the 1930s and during that time, the exterior was painted red once again. In 1964, the church was painted white once again. In 1980, a

was built on the eastern end of the building.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Åmli Churches in Agder Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1820 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References