Joranger Church

Joranger Church (Norwegian: Joranger kyrkje) is a parish church in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Joranger. It is one of the churches for the Fet og Joranger parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style using designs by an unknown architect. The building was probably constructed in the 1620s, but 1660 has historically been considered to be the construction date. The church seats about 85 people.[1][2][3]

Joranger Church
Joranger kyrkje
View of the church
Joranger Church Location of the church Show map of Vestland Joranger Church Joranger Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
61.3781°N 7.2887°E / 61.3781; 7.2887
Location	Luster Municipality, 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	1660
Specifications
Capacity	85
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Fet og Joranger
Deanery	Sogn prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Automatically protected
ID	84743

History

View of the church in the 1910s.

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1340, but the church was not built that year. The first church was a stave church and it was torn down in the 1620s and a new church was built to replace it on the same site. The new church was built using some of the materials from the old church. The nave measures 11.5 by 8 metres (38 ft × 26 ft) and the square choir measures 5.5 metres (18 ft) on each side. The church has a unique, large, octagonal-shaped steeple that is not in proportion with the rest of the small building. In the 1960s, a new foundation wall was laid under the church to prevent the problems caused by significant rotting of some of the wood.[4][3]

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

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