Bjorbekk Church

Bjorbekk Church (Norwegian: Bjorbekk kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bjorbekk. It is one of the churches for the Øyestad parish which is part of the Arendal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1884 using plans drawn up by the architect Johan Christoff Friedrich Reuter (1829-1909). The church seats about 650 people.[1][2]

Bjorbekk Church
Bjorbekk kirke
View of the church
58.441599°N 08.698116°E
Location	Arendal Municipality, Agder
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Former name(s)	Øyestad kirke
Status	Parish church
Founded	1884
Consecrated	23 July 1884
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	J.C. Reuter
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1884
Specifications
Capacity	650
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Øyestad
Deanery	Arendal prosti
Diocese	Agder og Telemark
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Not protected
ID	83899

History

View of the church

In the late 1800s, the centuries-old Øyestad Church had become too small for the parish which was located close to the quickly growing town of Arendal. Construction of the new church was approved in 1882. The design of the building was based on the design of the nearby Stokken Church which was designed by J.C. Reuter.[3] The church cost about 40,000 kr to construct at that time. The new church was consecrated on 23 July 1884.[4][5]

Originally, this church was named Øyestad Church since it was to be the new main church for that parish and the old Øyestad Church was renamed Old Øyestad Church. Those names, however, did not stick and people began to call this new church Bjorbekk Church since it was on the Bjorbekk farm and they continued to refer to the old church as simply Øyestad Church. The names were later officially changed to match the local usages.[5]

Kristoffer Gunstensen carved the frame of the altarpiece, the pulpit, the baptismal font, and a bell tower. The altarpiece from 1934 was painted by Leonard Rickhard.[5]

See also

• List of churches in Agder og Telemark

References

1. "Bjorbekk kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
3. "Johan Christoff Friedrich Reuter". Norsk Kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
4. "Bjorbekk kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
5. "Bjorbekk kirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 23 January 2021.