Hauge Church

Hauge Church (Norwegian: Hauge kyrkje) is a parish church in Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Lærdalsøyri. It is the church for the Hauge parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The wooden church is painted white with brownish-yellow trim. It was built in a long church style in 1869 using designs by the architect Christian Christie. The church seats about 500 people.[1][2]

Hauge Church
Hauge kyrkje
View of the church
Hauge Church Location of the church Show map of Vestland Hauge Church Hauge Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
61.0986°N 7.4947°E / 61.0986; 7.4947
Location	Lærdal Municipality, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	13th century
Consecrated	6 May 1869
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Christian Christie
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1869
Specifications
Capacity	500
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Hauge
Deanery	Sogn prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Listed
ID	84499

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1340, but it was not new that year. The first church was likely a stave church. Hauge Church is named after the Hauge farm where it was located. The farm sits about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) southeast of the village of Lærdalsøyri. Around the mid-1600s, the old stave church was torn down and replaced with a new timber-framed church on the same site. This new building had a nave that measured 11 by 7 metres (36 ft × 23 ft) and a square choir that measured 5.4 by 5.4 metres (18 ft × 18 ft).[3]

Over time, the church was too small for the parish, so it was decided to build a new church. The new building would be constructed in the quickly growing village of Lærdalsøyri, about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) down the valley, closer to the fjord. The name Hauge was kept as the church name even though the church was no longer located at Hauge. The new church building was consecrated on 6 May 1869 by Bishop Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland. The church is the only church in Sogn og Fjordane with two towers. The towers sit on either side of the main entrance to the church and it gives the church an unusually monumental character. After the new church was in use, the old church was torn down and its materials were sold to use in building barns.[4][5]

Media gallery

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  Site of the church before 1869
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See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Hauge kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
3. "Hauge gamle kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
4. "Hauge kyrkjestad / Hauge kyrkje 3" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
5. Henden Aaraas, Margrethe; Vengen, Sigurd; Gjerde, Anders. "Hauge kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Fylkesarkivet. Retrieved 2020-01-18.