Fedje Church


Fedje Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Fedje Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fedje on the northern coast of the island of Fedje. It is the church for the Fedje parish which is part of the Nordhordland prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, stone church was built in a long church style in 1941 using designs by the architect Ole Halvorsen. The church seats about 400 people. The church is built of stone/brick, which is better suited than wood for the harsh marine climate on Fedje. The roof consists of slate from Alta and the tower is covered with copper.

History

The earliest existing historical records of a chapel at Fedje date back to the year 1636, but the chapel was likely built before the 1600s because in the mid-1600s, it was described as being very old. The chapel was an annex chapel within the large Lindaas prestegjeld. Shortly after the last worship service on 24 April 1659, the old chapel was torn down and on 21 August of the same year, the new church was consecrated as the first official church on Fedje. The church was not much larger than the chapel on the site—the nave was only long. The church may not have been located on the present site, but rather on a small island north of the village of Fedje. By the mid-1800s, the church was in poor condition, so it was decided to replace the church. After a fundraising campaign, the old church was demolished in 1888 and a small wooden church was built. The new church was consecrated by Bishop Waldemar Hvoslef on 17 October of the same year. The church from 1888 quickly became too small for the congregation and in 1918 the parishioners began a plan to finance a new and larger church. In 1939, the church from 1888 was torn down, but unfortunately the start of World War II and the Invasion of Norway delayed the construction of the church. It was not until 1941 that the church was finished and on 7 September 1941 it was consecrated by the Bishop Andreas Fleischer.

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