Austre Moland Church

Austre Moland Church (Norwegian: Austre Moland kirke) is a parish church in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Brekka, along the lake Molandsvann. The church is one of three churches in the Moland parish which is part of the Arendal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden, cruciform church was built in 1673 by the architect Ole Ormsen. The church seats nearly 500 people.[1][2][3][4]

Austre Moland Church
Austre Moland kirke
View of the church
Austre Moland Church Location in of the church Show map of Agder Austre Moland Church Austre Moland Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
58°32′47″N 08°48′40″E
Location	Arendal, Agder
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Ole Ormsen
Completed	1673
Specifications
Capacity	496
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Moland
Deanery	Arendal prosti
Diocese	Agder og Telemark

History

The church was originally built as a small long church (Norwegian: langkirke) in 1673 to serve the old parish of Østre Moland (prior to 1919, the church was called Østre Moland kirke.[3] It was extended into a cruciform church in 1779, after a new tower had been added in 1750 and four small spires in 1775.[5] Ole Nilsen Weierholt was in charge of the construction. The painting and other decoration of the church was executed by Anders Grundesøn Løwe from Risør in 1797 at a cost of 300 riksdaler, and his fellow artist Nils Christensen created all of the portraits of the angels and apostles.[5][6] The exterior of the church has painted decorations around the windows.

The church bells date from 1750 and 1754.[6] The church is built of wood and can accommodate about 496 people.[1] The building underwent a major restoration in 1961.

References

1. "Austre Moland kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
3. "Austre Moland kirkested" (in Norwegian). Kulturminnesøk. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
4. Yates, Nigel (2008). Liturgical Space: Christian Worship and Church Buildings in Western Europe 1500–2000. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. p. 176.
5. "Tvedestrand turistinformasjon: Austre Moland kirke – veikirke i sommer".
6. "Austre Moland kirke" (in Norwegian). Norske kirkebygg.

Further reading

• Nenseter, Bjarne (1992). "På kirkevandring i Aust-Agder". Austre Moland kirke. Arendal: Kilden forlag. pp. 14–15. ISBN 8276270034.
• Nilsen, Sigrid E (1997). Austre Moland kirke (in Norwegian). Austre Moland menighetsråd.
• Rasmussen, Alf Henry (1993). Våre kirker. Norsk kirkeleksikon. Kirkenær: Vanebo forlag. p. 474. ISBN 8275270227.
• Weierholt, Olav (1973). Kirken i Austre Moland: festskrift til 300-års jubileet i 1973 (in Norwegian). Arendal.

External links

• Kulturminnesøk: Austre Moland kirkested.
• Kirkesøk: Austre Moland kirke.