Ortnevik Church (Norwegian: Ortnevik kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Høyanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ortnevik on the south shore of the Sognefjorden. It is one of the two churches for the Bjordal og Ortnevik parish which is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The red, wooden church was built in a long church design and a dragestil style in 1925 using plans drawn up by the architect Lars Norevik, who lived in the village. The church seats about 292 people.[1][2]

Ortnevik Church
Ortnevik kyrkje
View of Ortnevik (view full size and the red church is in the center of the picture)
Map
61°06′26″N 6°07′50″E / 61.1072435379°N 6.13065755364°E / 61.1072435379; 6.13065755364
LocationHøyanger Municipality,
Vestland
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
Former name(s)Ortnevik Chapel
StatusParish church
Founded1925
Consecrated1925
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)Lars Norevik
Architectural typeLong church
StyleDragestil
Completed1925 (99 years ago) (1925)
Specifications
Capacity292
MaterialsWood
Administration
DioceseBjørgvin bispedømme
DeanerySunnfjord prosti
ParishBjordal og Ortnevik
TypeChurch
StatusListed
ID85239

History edit

For hundreds of years, the parishioners living in Ortnevik had to boat about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) across the Sognefjorden to get to their parish church: Kyrkjebø Church. In the early 1920s, permission was given to build an annex chapel in Ortnevik for the people living in the southeast part of the municipality. The chapel was designed by Lars Norevik and the lead builder was Emil Geithus. Construction on the new chapel began during the summer of 1924. During the construction of the tower, a storm blew through the village one night and the partially constructed tower was blown off the church. It ended up in the field on the south side of the church and stood vertically in the ground as if it was planted there. Other damage to the building from the storm meant that the completion of the church was pushed back several months. The chapel was finally completed and consecrated in 1925. The new chapel was a large building, seating nearly 300 people, far more than the residents of the village. At the time of its construction, planners thought that the area would be prime for population growth, although the opposite came true. It had the status of an annex chapel until 1 January 1997 when it was upgraded to a parish church. At the same time the new parish of Bjordal og Ortnevik was created with Ortnevik Church and Bjordal Church being the two parish churches. This meant that all the people in Høyanger on the south side of the fjord now had their own parish.[3][4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Ortnevik kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  3. ^ Henden Aaraas, Margrethe; Vengen, Sigurd; Gjerde, Anders. "Ortnevik kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Fylkesarkivet. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Ortnevik kirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 September 2021.