Skjervøy Church

Skjervøy Church
Skjervøy kirke
View of the church
Skjervøy Church
Location in Troms
Skjervøy Church
Skjervøy Church (Norway)
Coordinates: 70°02′10″N 20°58′40″E / 70.0360°N 20.9779°E / 70.0360; 20.9779
Location Skjervøy, Troms
Country Norway
Denomination Church of Norway
Churchmanship Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status Parish church
Architecture
Functional status Active
Architect(s) Hans Michelsen
Architectural type Long church
Completed 1728
Specifications
Capacity 225
Materials Wood
Administration
Parish Skjervøy
Deanery Nord-Troms prosti
Diocese Nord-Hålogaland

Skjervøy Church (Norwegian: Skjervøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skjervøy Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the village of Skjervøy on the island of Skjervøya. It is the main church for the Skjervøy parish which is part of the Nord-Troms prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. The white, wooden church was built in 1728 to replace an older church building. It is the oldest preserved wooden church in the whole diocese, so it is a protected historic site. It was designed by the architect Hans Michelsen in a combination of the common long church style and cruciform style. The church seats about 225 people.[1][2]

History

The Sami missionary Thomas von Westen started this church in the 1720s. He commissioned Hans Michelsen to build the church. The church was to serve the coastal Sami people and Kven people inhabiting the parish, which at that time encompassed most of Northern Troms county. In that time, attending church was required and if you were absent, you could be fined. Since the parish was so large, many small cabins were built near the shoreline by the church so that people could travel to the church on Saturday, stay over night there and then attend church on Sunday. This in effect made the churchyard a major community gathering center each week.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Skjervøy kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  2. ↑ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  3. ↑ "Kirkene" (in Norwegian). Skjervøy menighet. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
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