Grindheim Church (Vestland)

Grindheim Church (Norwegian: Grindheim kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Etne Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Etnesjøen. It is one of the churches for the Etne parish which is part of the Sunnhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1724 using designs by an unknown architect. The church seats about 250 people.[1][2]

View of the church

Grindheim Church
Grindheim kyrkje
View of the church
Grindheim Church Location of the church Grindheim Church Grindheim Church (Norway)
59.6698°N 6.0040°E
Location	Etne, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	13th century
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1724
Specifications
Capacity	250
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Etne
Deanery	Sunnhordland prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Automatically protected
ID	84426

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1326, but it was not new that year.[3] The church was likely a stave church. The location must have been an important site on which to build a church since this location includes the largest pre-Christian burial site in Etne with more than 200 burial mounds. Today most of it is cultivated farmland and only some large mounds remain. To the far south is a large site with small mounds dating from the Bronze Age.[4][5]

By 1722, the old stave church was described as having a 13.8-by-8.8-metre (45 ft × 29 ft) nave with a 6.9-by-7.5-metre (23 ft × 25 ft) choir and a square tower at the west end of the building. Shortly after this, in 1723-1724, the old stave church was torn down and a new church building was constructed on the same site. The church bells in the tower date from 1628 and 1751, respectively. The building was extended to the west in 1854. In 1954–55 the church was renovated and restored.[3][5]

The Grindheim stone stands near the north exterior wall. It is a 3.75-metre (12.3 ft) tall stone and it was found in the cemetery wall. It is a memorial stone from around the year 1050 with a carved cross and the runic inscription: "Tormod erected this stone in honour of Tormod Svidade, his father". The stone cross in front of the church dates from the period immediately after the Christianization of Norway.[4]

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Grindheim kyrkje, Etne". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
3. "Kirker i Hordaland fylke" (in Norwegian). DIS-Hordaland. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
4. "Grindheim church, Etne". VisitNorway.com. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
5. "Grindheim kyrkjestad" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 31 May 2020.