Svatsum Church


Svatsum Church is an octagonal wooden church dating from 1860 in the municipality of Gausdal in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located at the Kirkebøs farm. The church is a timber-framed structure and can accommodate 250 people. It has three bells, dating from 1200–1300 and 1981; one of the bells is no longer in use. The altarpiece was painted by Christen Brun. The pulpit dates from 1860, and the pipe organ from 1960. The baptismal bowl is older than the church building. The church was consecrated on October 25, 1860.
The church can be reached via Norwegian County Road 255. There is a cemetery next to the church.
A stave church probably stood at Svatsum until 1726, when it was razed and replaced with a timber-framed structure. Archival documents refer to repairs and maintenance at the church in the 1600s and continuing until 1724. A wooden carving of Mary with the infant Christ and a wooden carving of Paul are found in the Nordic Museum and can be attributed to the stave church at Svatsum in the 1200s. The statue of Paul is one of the chief works of early church art from the Gudbrand Valley. An altar crucifix at the Nordic Museum is also believed to come from Svatsum, and it ended up at the museum after first being transferred to Aulstad Church. The structure that was built in 1726 was probably a cruciform church, and it was torn down when the octagonal church was built in 1860. When Aulstad Church was built in 1862, timber from the former church at Svatsum was reused for that project. An altar and woodcarving by Eistein Kjørn were also moved to Aulstad Church.
Svatsum Church was mentioned in written records for the first time in 1344. The church is also sometimes referred to as Svartsheim Church.