Tjugum Church

Tjugum Church
Tjugum kyrkje
View of the church
61°12′55″N6°32′38″E / 61.2151919810°N 6.54381752005°E / 61.2151919810; 6.54381752005
Location	Sogndal Municipality, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Previous denomination	Catholic Church
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	12th century
Consecrated	29 October 1863
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Christian Heinrich Grosch
Architectural type	Octagonal
Completed	1863(161 years ago) (1863)
Specifications
Capacity	320
Materials	Wood
Administration
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Deanery	Sogn prosti
Parish	Balestrand
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Listed
ID	85636

Tjugum Church (Norwegian : Tjugum kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sogndal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located just outside the village of Balestrand. It is one of two churches for the Balestrand parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal design in 1863 using plans drawn up by the architect Christian Henrik Grosch. The church seats about 320 people. ^{[1] [2]}

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1323, but it was not new that year. The first church in Tjugum was a wooden stave church that was likely built during the 12th century. In 1610, the old church was torn down and replaced by a new timber-framed long church. The timber church from 1610 is shown in a painting from 1839 (see media gallery below). The nave of the church measured about 10.4 by 8.2 metres (34 ft × 27 ft) and the choir measured about 5.3 by 6.6 metres (17 ft × 22 ft). In 1696–1698, a 6.3-by-4.4-metre (21 ft × 14 ft) sacristy was added to the east of the choir. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

This church was part of the Leikanger parish until 1 March 1849 when the new Balestrand parish was established. Tjugum Church was to be the main church for the parish, so a new, larger church was commissioned to be built. So in 1863, the old church was torn down and replaced by a new octagonal church on the same site. ^[3] The new church was designed by Christian Henrik Grosch and the lead builder was Johannes Øvsthus. The new building was consecrated on 29 October 1863 by the local Dean Thomas Erichsen. In 1940, the church porch was enlarged and the second floor seating gallery was reduced in size. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Media gallery

• 
  Exterior of the church
• 
  View from a distance
• 
  View of the front
• 
  Another view of the exterior
• 
  View of the previous church (1839)

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Tjugum kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
3. "Tjugum kyrkjested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage . Retrieved 10 December 2019.
4. "Tjugum kirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 October 2021.
5. Thue, Johannes B. "Tjugum kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Fylkesarkivet. Retrieved 10 December 2019.