Buksnes Church


Buksnes Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vestvågøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Gravdal on the island of Vestvågøya. It is the church for the Buksnes parish which is part of the Lofoten prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The red, wooden, Dragestil church was built in a long church style in 1905 by the architect Karl Norum. The church seats about 600 people.

History

The church site has been in use for centuries. The first written record referring to the church at Buksnes dates back to 1324. There have been several church buildings on the site over the years. Storms badly damaged the church in 1639. A new, wooden church was completed in 1641.
In 1802 the old church was torn down and replaced, using some of the old timbers from the previous church. In 1882, the church was again destroyed by a storm and a new church was built in 1885. The new church was struck by lightning on 26 January 1903 and it burned down.
The present church building was completed in 1905 and it was consecrated on 22 November 1905 by Bishop Peter W. K. Bøckman. This red, wooden church was built in Dragestil , a popular design in early 20th century Scandinavia.

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