Norwegian church sale

Last updated March 29, 2024

The Norwegian church sale (Norwegian : kirkesalget) was a comprehensive and systematic sale of most of the church properties in Norway during the 1720s. The purpose of this sale was the intention of improving the poor public finances in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway after the Great Northern War. In 1721, the government decided that the churches in Norway and the property they owned, with some exceptions, would be sold. This event is often referred to as "the great church sale" (Norwegian : det store kirkesalget). This sale was mainly carried out in the years 1723 to 1730. A total of 632 churches and annex chapels with all their associated church estates were sold. About a hundred of them were sold to the congregations and the rest were sold to individuals, often clergymen such as bishops and priests. Later, most churches were bought back by the congregation, often with help from the municipality. In retrospect, this church sale has been criticized in relation to whether the King even had ownership of these properties. On the other hand, it can be considered a taxation of the rich in society - as it was they who often bought these properties in auctions.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History

The sale was announced by posters hung on churches on 1 August 1721. As early as 1710, King Frederick IV had decided to sell the Norwegian churches, but this was not done at that time. When the sale was decided in 1721, the city churches, the churches in northern Norway, and the churches that were lent to the counties of Jarlsberg and Larvik, as well as the Barony Rosendal were excluded. Also, there was no sale of churches and properties in Northern Østerdal.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The Bishop of Christiania Bartholomæus Deichman was initially given the main responsibility for the sale. In 1722, he was replaced by the official Hans Nobel. In the first round, the bids were so low that they were not accepted. Nobel eventually managed to sell about half of the churches, mostly those that had profitable land attached to them. Interest in the sale increased when the government clarified that the new church owners could collect the tithe from the congregation directly. The first sale was completed on 3 May 1723. The bulk of the sale was completed by 1726, and the last set of churches were sold by 1730.^[1]^[2]^[3]

About two-thirds of those who bought the churches were government officials and of these, bishops and priests bought most churches. About a quarter of the churches were sold to farmers, either alone or several farmers together. About a tenth of the churches were sold to city dwellers. If the buyer had money owed to them by the Treasury, this was deducted from the purchase price. Since the Kingdom was not great at paying its debts during this period, it was often desirable for those people to buy churches as a way of ensuring that they could claim the money owed to them by the government.^[1]^[2]

The buyers took over all the wealth and debt of each church. The estates that came with the churches were largely left to their tenant farmers, who had to pay land debts to the church. The estate could not be sold and separated from the church. The church owner was thus entitled to taxes from those who used the church land. This could be very lucrative, but at the same time the church owner was also responsible for ensuring that the church was properly maintained, and they also had to supply the church with bread and wine for communion and other necessities. Much of this was financed through tithes and fees that the church owner could collect from the homeowners within the parish. The state retained the right to call priests for each parish, so the new church owners could not hire priests themselves.^[1]^[2]

In total, the government took in around 210,000 rigsdaler from the sale,^[1] which equates to approximately 1.5 billion kr in today's money value.^[4]

Related Research Articles

The Paus family is a Norwegian family that first appeared as members of the elite of 16th-century Oslo and that for centuries belonged to Norway's "aristocracy of officials" as priests of the state church, judges and other higher government officials, especially in Upper Telemark. Family members later became involved in shipping, steel and banking. The family is particularly known for its close association with Henrik Ibsen.

Advowson or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation.

The Tithe War was a campaign of mainly nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830 and 1836 in reaction to the enforcement of tithes on the Roman Catholic majority for the upkeep of the established state church, the Church of Ireland. Tithes were payable in cash or kind and payment was compulsory, irrespective of an individual's religious adherence.

Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan was a Danish author, a Lutheran bishop of the Church of Norway, a historian, and an antiquarian. His Catechism of the Church of Denmark heavily influenced Danish and Norwegian religious thought and practice for roughly the next 200 years after its 1737 publication.

The Catholic Church in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. As of May 2014, there were over 151,000 registered Catholics in Norway. It is claimed there are many Catholics who are not registered with their personal identification number and who are not reported by the local church; the full number may be as high as 230,000, 70% of whom were born abroad. That constitutes about 5% of the population, making Norway the most Catholic country in Nordic Europe.

The Manor of Rivington at Rivington in Lancashire, England was the past feudal means of control over land with manorial rights above and below ground. The manor history commences 1212 when the Pilkington family owned six oxgangs of land. Records are within a book Leverhulme sponsored, authored by William Fergusson Irvine using the same sources as an earlier work by Harland, the antiquarian who had inspected the Rivington Deeds and Documents, at Rivingon Hall in 1864. The manor was divided in moieties and in the 16th century the Pilkingtons of Rivington Hall owned a 5/8 share, the Cromptons who later occupied the Hall are reputed to have sold their share to William Hesketh Lever in 1900. Lever in turn agreed compensation for the majority of his freehold at Rivington from the Liverpool water company through the Liverpool Corporation Act 1902, the act makes no mention of the manor and there is no record of any later sale of manorial rights by Leverhulme or his heirs. Other owners of shares included a quarter owned in the past by the Lathoms of Irlam and an eighth owned by the Shaw family. The manor was not voluntarily registered under the Land Registration Act 2002 and resultingly no reference is made to it in modern title deeds. There are no manorial records at the National Archive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moss Jernverk</span> Ironwork in Norway

Moss Jernverk was an ironwork in Moss, Norway. Established in 1704, it was for many years the largest workplace in the city, and melted ore, chiefly from Arendalsfeltet. With power from the nearby waterfalls it manufactured many different products. From around the middle of the 1700 century the works were the leading armory in the country and produced hundreds of heavy iron cannons. The first rolling mill in Norway was also located here.

The Deanery of Strandebarm, also known as the "Church of Norway in Exile", was an independent conservative Lutheran deanery in Norway established in 1991 by priests who broke ties with the state church, the Church of Norway; in 1997 they claimed the status of a diocese. It functioned as a network of priests and congregations led by Børre Knudsen, Per Kørner and Ludvig Nessa who rejected what they claimed was the liberal direction of the Church of Norway. In 2012/13 the group split into the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway and independent "exile church" elect-congregations.

A rector is, in an ecclesiastical sense, a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations. In contrast, a vicar is also a cleric but functions as an assistant and representative of an administrative leader.

Hordabø Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bøvågen on the island of Radøy. It is one of the four churches in the Radøy parish which is part of the Nordhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1875 using designs by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 330 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landvik Church</span> Church in Agder, Norway

Landvik Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Grimstad Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is just south of the village of Roresand in the Landvik area. It is the church for the Grimstad parish which is part of the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1824 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 400 people.

Fåberg Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Lillehammer Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fåberg. It is the church for the Fåberg parish which is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The red, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1727 using plans drawn up by the architect Svend Tråseth. The church seats about 292 people.

Gjøvdal Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Åmli Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Askland in the Gjøvdal valley. It is the church for the Gjøvdal parish which is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1803 using plans drawn up by the architect Gjermund Gunnarson Veum. The church seats about 200 people.

Anders Daae was a Norwegian priest and landowner.

Nissedal Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Nissedal Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kyrkjebygda, on the east shore of the lake Nisser. It is one of the churches for the Nissedal parish which is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1764 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 270 people.

Flatdal Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Seljord Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Flatdal. It is one of the churches for the Seljord parish which is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1654 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 160 people.

Høydalsmo Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tokke Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Høydalsmo. It is one of the churches for the Høydalsmo og Lårdal parish which is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1747 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 60 people.

Lårdal Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tokke Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Lårdal. It is one of the churches for the Høydalsmo og Lårdal parish which is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1831 using plans drawn up by the architect Hans Linstow. The church seats about 120 people.

Sannidal Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kragerø Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Sannidal. It is the church for the Sannidal parish which is part of the Bamble prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1772 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 330 people.

Solum Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skien Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Solum, just west of the town of Skien. It is one of the churches for the Kilebygda og Solum parish which is part of the Skien prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1766 by the builder Joen Jacobsen. The church seats about 205 people.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Sandvik, Gudmund (1987). "Salet av landskyrkjene i Sør-Noreg i 1720-åra i perspektiv". Kyrkja i lokalsamfunnet : om kyrkjebygningar som historisk kjelde : ei artikkelsamling (in Norwegian). Kristiansand, Norge: Nettbiblioteket. ISBN 8271171941 . Retrieved 2022-01-29.
1 2 3 4 5 "Kirkesalget i 1720-åra". Lokal-Historie-Wiki (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2022-01-29.
1 2 3 Mykland, Liv (1976). Guds hus under hammeren. En studie i kirkesalget i Norge i 1720-årene (Master's thesis) (in Norwegian). University of Bergen.
↑ "Price calculator". Norges Bank (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2022-01-29.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[GS-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sandvik, Gudmund (1987). "Salet av landskyrkjene i Sør-Noreg i 1720-åra i perspektiv". Kyrkja i lokalsamfunnet : om kyrkjebygningar som historisk kjelde : ei artikkelsamling (in Norwegian). Kristiansand, Norge: Nettbiblioteket. ISBN 8271171941 . Retrieved 2022-01-29.

[LHW-2] 1 2 3 4 5 "Kirkesalget i 1720-åra". Lokal-Historie-Wiki (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2022-01-29.

[LM-3] 1 2 3 Mykland, Liv (1976). Guds hus under hammeren. En studie i kirkesalget i Norge i 1720-årene (Master's thesis) (in Norwegian). University of Bergen.

[4] "Price calculator". Norges Bank (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2022-01-29.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]