Mo Church (Vestland)

Mo Church (Norwegian: Mo kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Modalen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Mo. It is the church for the Mo parish which is part of the Nordhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden, neo-gothic church was built in a long church style in 1883 using designs by the architect Johannes Øvsthus. The church seats about 220 people.[1][2]

Mo Church
Mo kyrkje
View of the church
Mo Church Location of the church Show map of Vestland Mo Church Mo Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
60.8155°N 5.8022°E / 60.8155; 5.8022
Location	Modalen Municipality, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	12th century
Consecrated	11 July 1883
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Johannes Øvsthus
Architectural type	Long church
Style	Neo-Gothic
Completed	1883
Specifications
Capacity	220
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Mo
Deanery	Nordhordland prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Not protected
ID	84967

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1360, but it was likely built in the second half of the 12th century. The first church was a stave church. In 1593, the old church was torn down and replaced with a timber-framed building on the same site. This new church was a small tar-covered wooden church with a tower that seated about 130 people. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the church was remodeled and renovated several times, with an especially large addition to the east in 1831. In 1883, a new church was built just to the south of the old church and when it was completed, the old church was torn down and its materials were sold. Some of the items used in the old church were kept such as the altarpiece, baptismal font, candlesticks, as well as some old Bibles. The new church cost 13,500 kr and it was consecrated on 11 July 1883.[3][4][5]

Historically, this church was an annex chapel that belonged to the Hamre prestegjeld (parish) until 1749. From 1749 until 1967 it was part of the Hosanger prestegjeld, being upgraded to the status of church at some point. In 1967, the church became part of the Østereidet prestegjeld, based in Lindås municipality. Since 2004, the church has been the only church in the Mo parish which includes the whole municipality of Modalen.[4]

Media gallery

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See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Mo kyrkje, Modalen". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
3. "Kirker i Hordaland fylke" (in Norwegian). DIS-Hordaland. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
4. "Mo kyrkjestad" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
5. "Mo Kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Modalen kommune. Retrieved 2020-03-14.