Ølen Church

Ølen Church (Norwegian: Ølen kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vindafjord Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ølensjøen. It is one of the two churches for the Ølen og Bjoa parish which is part of the Haugaland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1874 using designs by the architect T. Solheim. The church seats about 550 people.[1][2]

Ølen Church
Ølen kyrkje
View of the church
59.603674°N 5.801933°E / 59.603674; 5.801933
LocationVindafjord Municipality,
Rogaland
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
StatusParish church
Founded13th century
Consecrated20 Nov 1874
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)T. Solheim
Architectural typeLong church
Completed1874 (1874)
Specifications
Capacity550
MaterialsWood
Administration
DioceseStavanger bispedømme
DeaneryHaugaland prosti
ParishØlen og Bjoa
TypeChurch
StatusNot protected
ID85902

History
View of the church in 2018

The first known church at Ølen was a stave church that was first mentioned in historical records in 1326, but it was not new that year. The original Ølen Church was built on a steep, prominent moraine ridge overlooking the village and fjord about 200 metres (660 ft) southeast of the present church site. In 1733, the old church was heavily renovated and rebuilt with a new timber-framed nave being built by the priest of Fjelberg Church who owned the church at that time. Some of the old materials from the old building were reused in the new addition.[3]

In 1874, a new church was built about 200 metres (660 ft) to the west, down the hill by the fjord. This church at Ølen was consecrated on 20 November 1874 by the local Dean Kierulff from Stord Church. Shortly afterwards, the old church was torn down, but the small entrance area to the old church was kept and converted into a small tool shed that would be used for the cemetery. The cemetery that surrounded the old church is still in use today as there was no room for a cemetery at the site of the new church.[3][4][5]

See also

References
  1. "Ølen kyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  3. "Nerheim kirkested - Ølen gamle kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  4. "Ølen kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Norges Kirker. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  5. "Ølen kyrkjestad / Ølen kyrkje 3" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 26 September 2020.

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