Svelvik Church

Svelvik Church
Svelvik kirke
View of the church
Svelvik Church
59°36′49″N 10°24′29″E / 59.61357°N 10.40793°E / 59.61357; 10.40793
LocationDrammen Municipality, Buskerud
CountryNorway
DenominationChurch of Norway
Previous denomination
Catholic Church
ChurchmanshipEvangelical Lutheran
History
StatusParish church
Foundedc. 1150
Consecrated7 Dec 1859
Architecture
Functional status
Active
ArchitectWilhelm Hanstein
Architectural type
Long church
Completed1859 (167 years ago) (1859)
Specifications
Capacity450
MaterialsBrick
Administration
DioceseTunsberg bispedømme
DeaneryDrammen og Lier prosti
ParishSvelvik
TypeChurch
StatusListed
ID85013

Svelvik Church (Norwegian: Svelvik kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Drammen Municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is located in the town of Svelvik. It is one of the churches for the Svelvik parish which is part of the Drammen og Lier prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg. The brick church was built in a long church design in 1859 using plans drawn up by the architect Wilhelm Hanstein. The church seats about 450 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1400, but the church was not built that year. The first church at Svelvik was probably built during the 1100s and it was known as the Strømm Church (the namesake for the Strømm prestegjeld and the old Strømm Municipality). The medieval church (dedicated to Saint Nicholas) was a Romanesque stone church that was an annex to the main Hurum Church. That church building was demolished in 1856.

After the old church was torn down, work on a new brick church was started on the same site. The new church was designed by Wilhelm Hanstein with Christian H. Grosch as consultant. It was consecrated on 7 December 1859. It is a rather unique church that has many features in common with Gothic Revival architecture, but the windows are round-arched. It is a brick long church with the main entrance facing east, which is clearly visible from the harbor. The choir apse thus faces west. The church received a tower clock in 1908, and it was replaced with a new one in 1959. The church was extensively restored in 1952 and again in 2018–2019.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Svelvik kirke" (in Norwegian). Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  3. ↑ "Svelvik kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Svelvik kirke". Norske-Kirker.net (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 October 2026.