Svatsum Church

Svatsum Church (Norwegian: Svatsum kirke) is an octagonal wooden church dating from 1860 in the municipality of Gausdal in Innlandet county, Norway.[1][2] It is located at the Kirkebøs farm.[3] The church is a timber-framed structure and can accommodate 250 people.[4] It has three bells, dating from c. 1200–1300 and 1981; one of the bells is no longer in use. The altarpiece was painted by Christen Brun. The pulpit dates from 1860, and the pipe organ from 1960. The baptismal bowl is older than the church building.[5] The church was consecrated on October 25, 1860.[6]

Svatsum Church
Svatsum kirke
Svatsum Church
Location in Innlandet
Svatsum Church
Svatsum Church (Norway)
LocationGausdal
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
StatusParish church
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Completed1860
Specifications
Capacity250
MaterialsWood
Administration
DeanerySør-Gudbrandsdal

The church can be reached via Norwegian County Road 255. There is a cemetery next to the church.

A stave church probably stood at Svatsum (Svatsum Stave Church) until 1726, when it was razed and replaced with a timber-framed structure. Archival documents refer to repairs and maintenance at the church in the 1600s and continuing until 1724.[3] A wooden carving of Mary with the infant Christ and a wooden carving of Paul are found in the Nordic Museum and can be attributed to the stave church at Svatsum in the 1200s.[7] The statue of Paul is one of the chief works of early church art from the Gudbrand Valley.[3] An altar crucifix at the Nordic Museum is also believed to come from Svatsum, and it ended up at the museum after first being transferred to Aulstad Church. The structure that was built in 1726 was probably a cruciform church, and it was torn down when the octagonal church was built in 1860.[7] When Aulstad Church was built in 1862, timber from the former church at Svatsum was reused for that project.[3] An altar and woodcarving by Eistein Kjørn were also moved to Aulstad Church.[8]

Svatsum Church was mentioned in written records for the first time in 1344 (as saurtsæimi and suartzheims). The church is also sometimes referred to as Svartsheim Church (Norwegian: Svartsheims kirkja).[6]

References
  1. "Svatsum kirke". Kirkesøk. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  2. "Svatsum kirkested". Kulturminnesøk. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  3. Grieg, Sigurd (1957). Gudbrandsdalen i mellomalderen: mennesket og kulturen. Hamar: Norsk skoletidendes boktrykkeri.
  4. Muri, Sigurd (1971). Norske kyrkjer. Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget.
  5. Rasmussen, Alf Henry (1993). "Svatsum kirke". Våre kirker. Norsk kirkeleksikon. Kirkenær: Vanebo forlag. p. 604. ISBN 82-7527-022-7.
  6. Helland, Amund (1913). Norges land og folk: topografisk-statistisk beskrevet : topografisk-statistisk beskrivelse over: Kristians amt Byerne og Gudbrandsdalen. Oslo: Aschehoug.
  7. Brøgger, A. W. (1932). Gudbrandsdalen – gård og kirke. Oslo: Aschehoug.
  8. Hauglid, Roar (1950). Akantus: Mestrene i norsk treskurd. Oslo: Mittet.

Further reading
  • Enden, Mari, et al. 2010. Svatsum kirke 150 år 1860-2010. (Jubilee edition)
  • Rasmussen, Alf Henry. 1993. Svatsum kirke. In: Våre kirker. Norsk kirkeleksikon, p. 604. Kirkenær: Vanebo forlag. ISBN 82-75-27022-7
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