Hamre Church

Hamre Church (Norwegian: Hamre kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Osterøy Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hamre. It is the church for the Hamre parish which is part of the Åsane prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in the late 1500s (possibly in 1585) using designs by an unknown architect. The church seats about 350 people.[1][2]

Hamre Church
Hamre kyrkje
View of the church
Hamre Church Location of the church Show map of Vestland Hamre Church Hamre Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
60.5448°N 5.3521°E / 60.5448; 5.3521
Location	Osterøy Municipality, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Former name(s)	Hammer kirke
Status	Parish church
Founded	1024
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Unknown
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	c. 1585
Specifications
Capacity	350
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Hamre
Deanery	Åsane prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Automatically protected
ID	84478

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1329, but the first church here is thought to have been built in 1023 or 1024. There isn't much known about the original stave church, but it was the main church for all of Nordhordland, and therefore much more important than a typical parish church. At some point, the old stave church was torn down and replaced by the present church building. The present church at Hamre cannot be dated precisely. It was historically thought to have been built around 1622, but more recently an inscription on the old main door was found that suggests that it may have been built in 1585, in which case it is the first wooden church to be built near Bergen.[3] The wooden church was heavily renovated in 1649 and partially rebuilt in 1859.[4] Inside the church is a 1.4-metre (4 ft 7 in) high stone altar, which may indicate that the present church was built around the old stone altar from the historic stave church on the same site.[5]

Historically, the church at Hamre included all the subordinate churches in Mo, Alversund, Seim, Mæland, Aasene, and Hosanger. In 1749, Hosanger, Seim, and Mo were separated to form their own parish. In 1871, Aasene was separated to form its own parish. In 1885, Alversund and Mæland joined Aasene parish. This left just Hamre as the only church in what was once a vast geographic parish. In 1967, the Hosanger parish was dissolved and Hosanger Church was moved back to the Hamre parish. In 1975, both Hosanger and Hamre became part of the newly created Osterøy parish.[5]

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See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Hamre kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
3. "Hamre kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Osterøy kyrkjeleg fellesråd. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
4. "Kirker i Hordaland fylke" (in Norwegian). DIS-Hordaland. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
5. "Hamre kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2020-03-14.