Øn Church

Øn Church (Norwegian: Øn kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Hyllestad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Sørbøvågen. It is one of the three churches for the Hyllestad parish which is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The brick church was built in a long church style in 1958 using designs by the architect Ole Halvorsen. The church seats about 370 people.[1][2]

Øn Church
Øn kyrkje
View of the church
Øn Church Location of the church Øn Church Øn Church (Norway)
61.2257°N 5.1712°E
Location	Hyllestad Municipality, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	13th century
Consecrated	15 June 1958
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Ole Halvorsen
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1958
Specifications
Capacity	370
Materials	Brick
Administration
Parish	Hyllestad
Deanery	Sunnfjord prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin

History

View of the altarpiece at Øn Church

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1327, but the church was not new that year. The medieval church was likely a stave church and it was located on the shores of the Hyllestadfjorden, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the present-day village of Sørbøvågen where the present church is located. A stone entrance gate to the churchyard has the date 1228 inscribed on it, which possibly means that is when the first church was built on the site.[3] The old church existed there until around the year 1600 when it was torn down and replaced on the same site by a timber-framed church. In 1870, the church was torn down and replaced on the same site with a new church (the third church to be built on the site). This building was struck by lightning on 4 November 1940 and it burned to the ground.[4]

Due to the occupation of Norway by the Germans in World War II, the church was not rebuilt for quite a while. There was some controversy over where to build the replacement church: on the original location at Øn or in the village of Sørbøvågen. After some debate, there was a vote held on 15 May 1947 and 157 people voted to rebuild on the old site and 272 people voted to build it in Sørbøvågen. The new church was built out of brick and concrete and it was consecrated on 15 June 1958 by the Bishop Ragnvald Indrebø.[3][5]

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Øn kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
3. "Øn kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Fylkesarkiv. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
4. "Øn gamle kyrkjestad" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
5. "Øn kyrkjestad / Øn kyrkje 4" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2019-11-17.