Bamble Church

Bamble Church
Bamble kirke
View of the church
59°00′34″N9°39′50″E / 59.009436°N 9.6639792°E / 59.009436; 9.6639792
Location	Bamble Municipality, Telemark
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Previous denomination	Catholic Church
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1845
Consecrated	19 October 1845
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	G.A. Lammers
Architectural type	Long church
Style	Neo-Gothic
Completed	1845(179 years ago) (1845)
Specifications
Capacity	400
Materials	Wood
Administration
Diocese	Agder og Telemark
Deanery	Bamble prosti
Parish	Bamble og Herre
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Automatically protected
ID	83850

Bamble Church (Norwegian : Bamble kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bamble Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bamble. It is one of the churches for the Bamble og Herre parish which is part of the Bamble prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1845 using plans drawn up by the architect Gustav Adolph Lammers. The church seats about 400 people. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

This modern church is built about 150 metres (490 ft) to the north of the ruins of the old St. Olav's Church, a much older stone church, probably constructed before 1150. ^[4]

History

The old Bamble Church, known as the St. Olav's Church served this parish for many centuries. By the 1840s, the old church was in need of replacement, so planning for a new church began. The old church was going to be torn down and the new church was to be built about 150 metres (490 ft) to the north of the old church. The new church was designed by the local parish priest Gustav Adolph Lammers, who was also the local mayor and a member of parliament for a while. ^[5] Some modifications to the plan came from Christian Grosch, who worked for the Norwegian Ministry of Church Affairs. The church was consecrated on 19 October 1845. The church is considered by some to be Norway's first Neo-Gothic church. When it was built, some of the stone from the old medieval church was used in the foundation wall and the cemetery wall. The new church was technically a cruciform building, but the transepts that are the cross-arms are very small and short, so the interior of the church is set up as a long church. The two transepts are set up as galleries. In 1902, the church was renovated by the architect Hjalmar Welhaven. Among the things that were changed was the modest original tower was removed and a much larger tower was built in its place. In 1985, the church was again restored and some of the interior colors were changed. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [4]}

Artwork

The church has a large cross flanked by two altarpieces, both painted by Gustav Adolph Lammers. The cross was drawn by Per Vigeland and carved by brothers Anker and Bjarne Walle from Bamble. The 1951, stained glass window, with the risen Christ as a theme, is also by Vigeland. ^[9] The church inventory also includes an exemplar of Christian III's Bible from 1550 and brass candlesticks that feudal lord Ove Gjedde bestowed to the old church in 1643. ^{[4] [10]}

Media gallery

• 
  Exterior front
• 
  Exterior front/side
• 
  Photo from early 20th century
• 
  Interior
• 
  Balconies in the back of the church
• 
  Stained glass at rear of church, depicting resurrection of Jesus, by Per Vigeland
• 
  "The Law"; depicting Moses receiving the templates of law, by G.A. Lammers
• 
  "The Gospel", depicting Jesus in Gethsemane, by G.A. Lammers
• 
  Organ gallery

See also

• List of churches in Agder og Telemark

References

1. "Bamble kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
3. Rasmussen, Alf Henry. Våre kirker: Norsk kirkeleksikon (in Norwegian). Kirkenær, Norge: Vanebo forlag. p. 504. ISBN   8275270227 . Retrieved 3 December 2022.
4. Henriksveen, Herman, ed. (1986). Kirker i Telemark. Stathelle: Flora forlag. pp. 66–67. ISBN   8290695004.
5. "Bamble kirke". artemisia.no.
6. "Bamble kirkested / Bamble kirke 2" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage . Retrieved 14 December 2022.
7. "Bamble kirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
8. Eldal, Jens Christian; Havran, Jiri (2002). Kirker i Norge, bind 3: Med historiske forbilder. 1800-tallet. Oslo: ARFO. pp. 98–101. ISBN   8291399115.
9. "Bamble parish". Kulturminnesøk.
10. "Bamble kirke". LokalHistorieWiki.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 December 2022.