Old Værøy Church

Old Værøy Church (Norwegian: Værøy gamle kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Nordland on the northern side of the island of Værøya. It used to be the main church for the Værøy parish which is part of the Bodø domprosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The red, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1714 (in another location) and it was moved to its present location in 1799.[1][2] It is the oldest church in Lofoten that is still in use.

Old Værøy Church
Værøy gamle kirke
View of the church
Old Værøy Church
Location of the church
Old Værøy Church
Old Værøy Church (Norway)
67.6933°N 12.7032°E / 67.6933; 12.7032
LocationVærøy, Nordland
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
StatusParish church
Consecrated1799
EventsMoved to Værøy in 1799
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeLong church
Completed1714
Specifications
MaterialsWood
Administration
ParishVærøy
DeaneryBodø domprosti
DioceseSør-Hålogaland

History
Another view of the church

The village of Nordland on the island of Værøy has probably had a church since the 1500s. In 1599, the church was either heavily repaired or replaced. The previous church on the island was destroyed by strong winds during a storm in 1790.[3][4]

Rather than building a replacement, another church building (built in 1746) from the nearby village of Kabelvåg (in what is now Vågan Municipality) was moved to Værøy in 1799. Some furniture from the old church still exists in today's church. They chose to move the church from Kabelvåg because that church was too small for the Kabelvåg congregation, so they were going to build a new, larger church there.[3] The church underwent extensive remodeling and renovations from 1828 until 1837. During the 1880s, a storm ravaged the church and it again needed to be rebuilt.[4]

In 1939, a new Værøy Church was built in the village of Sørland on the south side of the island, where most of the residents lived. The new church became the main church for the parish, although the old church is still used for worship services each month on the fourth Sunday.[3]

See also
  • List of churches in Nordland

References
  1. "Værøy gamle kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  3. "Om Værøy gamle kirke" (in Norwegian). Værøy gamle prestegård. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  4. "Værøy kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
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