Tydal 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 ...
in
Tydal Municipality in
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
Aunet, on the northern shore of the
Nea River, about west of the municipal center of
Ã…s. It is the main church for the Tydal
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
Stjørdal 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 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 red, wooden church was originally built in a
Y-shaped style in 1696 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 ...
Ole Jonsen Hindrum. The church has been remodeled several times to enlarge and repair it and now it has more of 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 than its original Y-shaped design. The church currently seats about 270 people.
History
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1589, but the church was likely built around the year 1200. The first church in Tydal was likely 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 ...
and it was located about southeast of the present site of the church. The church's
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 ...
measured about and the
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 ...
measured about . The medieval church served all of Tydal as an
annex chapel under the nearby
Selbu Church
Selbu Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Selbu Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Mebonden. It is one of the churches for the Selbu parish which is part of the Stjørdal prosti (deane ...
. After the
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
, the population of Tydal was very low with only a handful of active farms in the whole valley.
In 1696, the old church was torn down and moved about to the northwest, further down the valley. Most of the furniture and decor from the old church was replaced with new material in the new church, but two carved planks were brought to the new church from the old church at Kirkvoll. The planks are slightly over long and have a cut-through decoration and they are used to form the side pieces on a bench. They can be dated to the first half of the 1300s. The church was built and
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 in 1696. It was designed as a
Y-shaped building which is pretty rare in Norway. The church was built by
Ole Jonsen Hindrum, who also built other Y-shaped churches.
In 1814, this church served as an
election church ().
Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814
Norwegian Constituent Assembly
The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...
which wrote the
Constitution of Norway
The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...
. This was Norway's first national elections. Each
church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet at
Eidsvoll Manor later that year.

From 1833 to 1836, the church was expanded and rebuilt converting it from a y-shape design more of 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 with some "wings" protruding out the sides where the old Y-shaped walls stand. This means it is no longer a true Y-shaped church nor is it a true long church, but some sort of hybrid between the two. Ole Pedersen Qvam was the builder. There is a
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 ...
in what was the eastern arm of the old Y-church, and this part seems to have its original ceiling height. The wings to the northwest and southwest protrude slightly beyond the eastern part of the
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 ...
after the renovation, but the two wings have been integrated into the main room. Here the roof is made higher than it was in the Y-church, and the nave is also wider than some of the wings of the Y-church, as it goes from corner to corner on these. There is now a
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 ...
behind the
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, ...
, on the east end of the choir. The nave has a small tower on the west end of the roof ridge. There is also an entry porch on the west end of the building.
See also
*
List of churches in Nidaros
References
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2021
Tydal
Churches in Trøndelag
Y-shaped churches in Norway
Long churches in Norway
Wooden churches in Norway
17th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Churches completed in 1696
13th-century establishments in Norway
Norwegian election churches