Hyen Church

Hyen Church (Norwegian: Hyen kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Gloppen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Straume, near the shore of the Hyefjorden. It is the church for the Hyen parish which is part of the Nordfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1876 by the architect Karl Uchermann. The church seats about 300 people.[1][2]

Hyen Church
Hyen kyrkje
View of the church
Hyen Church Location of the church Show map of Vestland Hyen Church Hyen Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
61.7394°N 5.9183°E / 61.7394; 5.9183
Location	Gloppen Municipality, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	13th century
Consecrated	14 June 1876
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Karl Uchermann
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1875
Specifications
Capacity	300
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Hyen
Deanery	Nordfjord prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1308, but it was not new at that time. The church was likely a stave church and it was located at the village of Hope, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the present location at Straume. Sometime around the mid-1300s, around the time of the Black Death in this region, the church was closed down and no longer used. Eventually the church was torn down. Parishioners living in the Hyen area were forced to make the long, arduous journey by boat to the Vereide Church. For about 500 years, there was no church in Hyen.[3]

In the early 1800s, residents of the Hyen area tried very hard to get a local church for themselves once again. After many years of pushing the government officials to allow a new church to be built. Finally, in 1875, the church was finally approved, but it was to be built in Straume, at the head of the Hyefjorden, rather than further inland at Hope, where the medieval stave church once stood. The new church was consecrated on 14 June 1876. At the same time, a new Hyen parish was established.[4][5]

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Hyen kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
3. "Hope kyrkjestad / Hyen stavkirke 1" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
4. Henden Aaraas, Margrethe. "Hyen kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Fylkesarkiv. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
5. "Hyen kyrkjestad / Hyen kyrkje 2" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2019-11-07.