Medieval churches in Norway
Eidsberg Church
Eidsberg church, also called as Østfold Cathedral, was built in the late 1200s, but burned in 1440. The church was rebuilt, and in 1880-81 it was extended and restored to its present appearance. The wall is derived in part from the old medieval church. Findings suggest an early church about the year 1000, followed by a Romanesque church in 1100-tallet. Alteret the current church is from 1651, the pulpit from 1662. ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Eidsberg, Norway
Idd Church
Idd church was built around the year 1100. It was badly damaged in an earthquake on Sunday, 23 October 1904. The earthquake occurred in the middle of church time, and the church was full of people, but no one was injured. In 1922 it was fully restored.
Founded: c. 1100 |
Location:
Halden, Norway
Skaun Church
Skaun Church was built in 1183. There are some medieval frescoes survived. The pulpit was designed by Ole Bildsnider in 1665. The Baroque altarpiece dates from 1773.
Founded: 1183 |
Location:
Skaun, Norway
Sørum Church
Sørum Church was inaugurated probably in 1166. The pulpit is a Renaissance work ad altarpiece dates from 1733. There is a rare wheel cross in the church cemetery dating from the 12th century.
Founded: 1166 |
Location:
Sørum, Norway
Røyken Church
The first written record of the Røyken Church is in Eysteinn Erlendsson"s 'Red Book' in 1392. The church was however built already in 1229. It has a rectangular nave with stone walls that are around 2 meters thick. The altarpiece dates from the 1600s.
Founded: 1229 |
Location:
Røyken, Norway
Skedsmo Church
Skedsmo Church was originally built in 1180, but it was enlarged and reconstructed in 1869. The church is located to the site where the first wooden church was already in 1022. The pulpit dates from 1578 and altar from 1693. The font dates from c. 1200, as well as the wooden sculpture of St. Olaf. The original sculpture is today in museum, but there is a copy in Skedsmo Church.
Founded: 1180 |
Location:
Skedsmo, Norway
Leikanger Church
Leikanger Church was originally built of stone in ca. 1250. Two towers and the porch were added in the 1600s. In 1872 the interior was replaced almost completely, the porch was demolished and tower replaced with a new one. The pulpit and altar date from the early 1600s.
Founded: 1250 |
Location:
Leikanger, Norway
Øye Stave Church
Øye stave church is a triple nave stave church and dates from the second half of the 12th century. The church was situated next to the lake Vangsmjøse in Øye. Here, however, the river Rødøla would flood almost every spring and, corpses would be flushed out of their graves. As a result the church was moved, this time to a location further away from the river. In 1747 the church was torn d ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Vang, Norway
Nøtterøy Church
Nøtterøy Church is a cross-formed medieval stone church. It was built in the end of the 12th century and first time mentioned in papal letter in 1323. The altarpiece was added in the 18th century and it is painted by Jacob Lindegard. There are stone reliefs in the church wall, which probably date from the original church.
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Nøtterøy, Norway
Alstahaug Church
Alstahaug Church built in the 1100s and it seats about 270 people. It was enlarged in 1865 and restored in 1960. The altarpiece dates from 17th century.
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Alstahaug, Norway
Steigen Church
The Steigen stone church was originally built around the year 1250, and it has since been renovated and expanded several times. In the 17th century the church was damaged several times by storms and lightning. The interior was changed in the late 1800s when it was restored. The chandelier dates from 1684. Between 1963-1965 the church was restored to the medieval appearance. The present church seats about 400 people.
Founded: c. 1250 |
Location:
Steigen, Norway
Dønnes Church
Dønnes Church was built during the 1200s, probably by the order of Paul Vågaskalm (died in 1245). The chapel was added in the 1500s and tower in 1866. The church has a Madonna statue from the 1200s and St. Lawrence statue from the 1400s. The pulpit is Baroque and altarpiece from 1670.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Dønna, Norway
Bodin Church
Bodin Church was built around the year 1240 and was enlarged in 1785 with a transept. In 1894, the entire section of the medieval church was torn down and rebuilt in the same style. The church has a stone altar from the 1300s and some wooden sculptures from the late 1400s until the early 1500s. The church is characterized today by the interior from the 1600s and 1700s. The altarpiece is from 1670, the pulpit from the 1600 ...
Founded: c. 1240 |
Location:
Bodø, Norway
Korskirken
Korskirken is located at the intersection of the streets Kong Oscars gate and Nedre Korskirkeallmenning and dates back to the latter half of the 12th century. The name of the church refers to the True Cross (and not to its cruciform plan), and is usually rendered in English as "Holy Cross Church". This is because it was, as one of only a Norwegian churches, in possession of a relic from the True Cross. This reli ...
Founded: c. 1181 |
Location:
Bergen, Norway
Nes Church Ruins
Nes Church was built originally in the 1100s and has been enlarged several times. It was burned down in the war against Swedish in 1567 and rebuilt later. In 1697 it was transformed to cross shape. Nes church was destroyed by lightning in 1854. The restoration began in 1924. The altarpiece, font and pulpit survived from fire and were located to new Nes church in 1860s.
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Nes, Norway
Avaldsnes Church
Before the current Avaldsnes church was constructed, there was a wooden church on the same site. That church is assumed to have been built by Olav Trygvason, and it is possible that the present stone church is built around this church originally. The current church has been a landmark for seafarers passing through the strait of Karmsund for 750 years. King Håkon IV Håkonsson gave permission to build a church around the ...
Founded: 1320 |
Location:
Avaldsnes, Norway
Løten Church
Løten Church is a stone church probably built around 1200. It was latest rebuilt in 1873. The font dates from 1815 and pulpit from 1873. The altarpiece was donated to the church in 1873.
Founded: c. 1200 |
Location:
Løten, Norway
Nes Church
Nes Church dates from c. 1180. The stone church has still some remnants of reliefs from the Middle ages. Near the church is an old farm which, according a legend, belonged to the 'King of Grenland' (Grenland is a traditional district in the county of Telemark).
Founded: c. 1180 |
Location:
Sauherad, Norway
Råde Church
It is supposed that Råde Church with its mighty tower was built around the year 1200. In old documents the church is first mentioned in 1330. It was damaged by lightning in the 16th century. The present altarpiece dates from 1638. In 1723 the church was sold to the owner of Tomb manor house, general Lützow. For 130 years to come the church belonged to different owners of Tomb, who got all its income and kept t ...
Founded: 1185-1200 |
Location:
Råde, Norway
Hvaler Church
Hvaler church is probably one of the oldest in Norway. According carbon dating methods on wood samples analyzed in 1960 it was originally built between 920 and 1080 AD. The current church nave dates mainly from the 12-13th centuries. Archeologists carried out extensive excavations during the restoration from 1953 to 1956. They discoverede there was a fireplace under the foundations dating from the age between 120 BC and 8 ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Skjærhalden, Norway