Åkra Church (Vestland)

Åkra Church (Norwegian: Åkra kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kvinnherad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Åkra. It is the church for the Åkra 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 1735 using designs by an unknown architect. The church seats about 225 people.[1][2]

Åkra Church
Åkra kyrkje
View of the church
Åkra Church Location of the church Show map of Vestland Åkra Church Åkra Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
59.7902°N 6.1002°E / 59.7902; 6.1002
Location	Kvinnherad, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	13th century
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Unknown
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1735
Specifications
Capacity	225
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Åkra
Deanery	Sunnhordland prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Automatically protected
ID	85954

History

The church in Åkra has been around since the Middle Ages. The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1329. The first church was a stave church that measured approximately 15 by 9 metres (49 ft × 30 ft) with a choir that measured 5 by 5.6 metres (16 ft × 18 ft). That old church was torn down and in 1735 a new church was built on the same site. In 1787, the church was described as having its interior walls decorated in rosemåling and murals depicting angels, King David, the creation story, the Fall, as well as many characters from the Bible. The church was heavily remodeled from 1871-1873 and during that all of the interior artwork was removed. The nave was taken down and rebuilt, enlarging and extending it further to the west. In 1919, the parish desired to tear down the old church a build a new one, but the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage objected and after many years of back and forth, the church was renovated in 1959.[3][4][5]

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Åkra kyrkje, Kvinnherad". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
3. "Kirker i Hordaland fylke" (in Norwegian). DIS-Hordaland. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
4. "Åkra kyrkjestad" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
5. Lidén, Hans-Emil. "Åkra kirke" (in Norwegian). Norges Kirker. Retrieved 3 June 2020.