Sortland Church

Sortland Church (Norwegian: Sortland kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Sortland. It is one of the three churches for the Sortland parish which is part of the Vesterålen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The white, wooden, neo-gothic church was built in a cruciform style in 1901 by the architects Carl Julius Bergstrøm and Karl Norum. The church seats about 696 people.[1][2]

Sortland Church
Sortland kirke
View of the church
Sortland Church
Location of the church
Sortland Church
Sortland Church (Norway)
68.7002°N 15.4123°E / 68.7002; 15.4123
LocationSortland, Nordland
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
StatusParish church
Founded14th century
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeCruciform
StyleNeo-gothic
Completed1901
Specifications
Capacity696
MaterialsWood
Administration
ParishSortland
DeaneryVesterålen prosti
DioceseSør-Hålogaland

History

The earliest existing historical records of this church date back to 1381, but the church was not new at that time. There have been several churches in Sortland over the centuries. The first churches in Sortland were located about 300 metres (980 ft) southeast of the present-day church, closer to the fjord. Not much is known about the medieval churches in Sortland, but records show a new church was built in 1676. It was a log building in a cruciform design. In 1803, the church was heavily renovated. By the early 1900s, the church was in poor condition. A new church site was chosen, about 300 metres (980 ft) northwest of the church. The new church was completed in 1902 and it seats nearly 700 people. After the new church was completed, the old church was torn down. The site of the old church was marked with a small building with the old church steeple and church bell on top and the area was made into a park.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Sortland kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  3. "Sortland gamle kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
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