Nordlandet Church


Nordlandet Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the western end of the island of Nordlandet in the town of Kristiansund. It is the church for the Nordlandet parish which is part of the Ytre Nordmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre. The gray, stone church was built in a cruciform style in 1914 by the architect Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg. The church seats about 700 people.

History

On 19 December 1872, the Kristiansund City Council decided that the church parish should be divided and a new church was to be erected on the island of Kirklandet and the old church building would be moved to the neighboring island of Nordlandet. Previously, the church had been known as Kristiansund Church, but with two churches, they would get new names. The new church on Kirkelandet would be known as Kirkelandet Church and the old church that would be moved to Nordlandet would be known as Nordlandet Church. The new Kirkelandet Church was designed by Henrik Thrap-Meyer and it was built from 1875–1878 and it was consecrated on 18 September 1878. Budget overruns and large municipal expenditures in general meant that the Nordlandet project was postponed, despite the fact that land was purchased. The old church stood for a few years after the new one was completed before the old church was demolished in 1884.
Years later, in 1914, the new Nordlandet Church was finally constructed. The stone church was based upon designs by the architect Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg. The new building was consecrated on 13 December 1914. The church features murals by Emanuel Vigeland. The altarpiece dates from 1850 and was transferred from the old Kristiansund Church, which was demolished in 1884. It is one of the few churches in the area that were not harmed during World War II.