Grimstad Church


Grimstad Church is a parish church in Grimstad municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the town of Grimstad. The church is part of the Grimstad parish in the Vest-Nedenes deanery in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The large, green, cruciform church was built in 1881 using plans by the architect Henrik Thrap-Meyer. The church is one of the largest wooden churches in Norway, seating about 1,000 people.

History

The first church in the town of Grimstad was built in 1849 on a prominent hill overlooking the harbour. That church was not very large, so it was quickly outgrown by the town. Originally, there was a cemetery surrounding the church, but just like the original church, it quickly filled up and it is no longer used. A new cemetery was opened in Frivoll in 1872 and it has been in use since that time. In 1881, the church building was disassembled and moved to the nearby parish of Nedenes and it was rebuilt to become the Engene Church. A new, much larger church was built in Grimstad and it was consecrated on 7 April 1881.