Kvernes Stave Church
History
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1400, but the stave church was probably built during the early-14th century. The church is a single-nave church of the "Møre"-type, characterized by central posts in the external wall and crossbeams. The small nave measures only 16 by 7.5 metres (52 by 25 ft) and the choir is only 7 by 7.5 metres (23 by 25 ft), making it one of the smallest stave churches in existence. The church was rebuilt in 1633 and during this renovation the front door was moved from the nave's west side to the south side. Also during this renovation, the old choir was torn down and rebuilt in a timber-framed construction rather than the historic stave construction. In 1648, the tower on the roof was repaired. From 1661 to 1663, a church porch was constructed. A sacristy was built around 1689 as well. In 1776, the church was renovated again. In 1810, the tower on the roof was again repaired.
In 1814, this church served as an election church (Norwegian: valgkirke). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the Constitution of Norway. 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 in Eidsvoll later that year.
In 1893, the parish built a new Kvernes Church about 50 metres (160 ft) south of the old stave church. The stave church was closed after the new church was consecrated in 1893. In 1894, the old building was purchased by a group of individuals who donated it as a gift to Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments. The society has refurbished the building and it is now a museum.
Media gallery
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Side view of the church
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East end of the church
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Altar and altarpiece
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Altar
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Baptismal font
See also
References
- ^ "Kvernes stavkirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ Nina Aldin Thune. "Kvernes stavkirke" (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ "Kvernes Stave Church" (in Norwegian). Fortidsminneforeningen. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Kvernes stavkirke" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ "Kvernes stavkirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Valgkirkene". LokalHistorieWiki.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Valgkartet". Valgene i 1814 (in Norwegian). Arkivverket. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Om valgene". Valgene i 1814 (in Norwegian). Arkivverket. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ Jensenius, Jørgen H. "Kvernes". Stavkirke.info. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Kvernes stavkirke". Kunsthistorie. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Kvernes stave church – Stavkirke.org (in Norwegian)