Rørvik Church


Rørvik Church was a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vikna municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Rørvik on the island of Inner-Vikna. It was one of the churches for the Vikna parish which is part of the Namdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros. The church was damaged in a fire in 2013 and it was subsequently torn down in preparation for the construction of a new church in 2018.

History

The church was built in 1896 after the people of the village of Rørvik asked for a church in their village since the nearest church, Garstad Church, was a long boat trip away. The government agreed and it was built. The new church was consecrated on 27 October 1896 by Bishop Johannes Skaar. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1896 by the architects Ole Scheistrøen and Arne Sjølvik. The church seated about 200 people.
On 1 May 1940, during World War II, a bomb was dropped on the hill between the church and the road Johan Bergs gate. The church was so badly damaged that it could not be used without a thorough repair. The church was then rebuilt, but to save money and time, a somewhat simpler design was chosen rather than replicating the original. It was restored in 1973 and 2006-2007.
In February 2013, the church was damaged by fire, but survived. The altarpiece was brought to safety during the firefighting. It is likely that the fire was started by two children who were playing with matches. The fire was declared accidental. After removing the silver and remaining historic pieces, the church was demolished in preparation for construction of a new church building.