Ibestad Church


Ibestad Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ibestad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hamnvik in eastern part of the island of Rolla. It is the main church for the Ibestad parish which is part of the Trondenes prosti in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. The white, stone, neo-gothic church was built in a long church style in 1881 on the basis of designs by the architect J.A. Johansen from Trondheim. The church seats about 500 people.

History

The first church at Ibestad was built in the middle ages, likely sometime in the 13th century. There were probably a series of church buildings on the site over the centuries, but not much is known of the earlier churches. A stone church was built on the site in 1770 and that church was torn down in 1880. Much of the stone used in the present church was recycled from the older churches and reused in the current church. Part of the present foundation was reused from a previous church as well.