Øye Stave Church

Church in Innlandet, Norway

Øye Stave Church

Øye stavkirke

View of the church

61°10′05″N 8°24′00″E﻿ / ﻿61.16793096776°N 8.40001478791°E﻿ / 61.16793096776; 8.40001478791
Location| Vang Municipality,
Innlandet
Country| Norway
Denomination| Church of Norway
Previous denomination| Catholic Church
Churchmanship| Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status| Parish church
Founded| c. 1180
Consecrated| 1 August 1965
Architecture
Functional status| Active
Architect(s)| Ole Øvergaard
Architectural type| Long church
Style| Stave church
Completed| 1965 (60 years ago) (1965)
Closed| 1747-1965
Specifications
Capacity| 30
Materials| Wood
Administration
Diocese| Hamar bispedømme
Deanery| Valdres prosti
Parish| Øye

Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site

Type| Church
Status| Automatically protected
ID| 85935

Øye Stave Church (Norwegian: Øye stavkyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vang Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Øye. It is one of the churches for the Øye parish which is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden stave church was built in a long church design in 1965 using plans drawn up by the architect Ole Øvergaard using pieces salvaged from the old 12th century church that had originally been torn down in 1747. The church seats about 30 people.[1][2]

## History

[edit]

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1347, but the church was not new that year. The first church in Øye was a wooden stave church that was built in the late 12th century, likely around the years 1180–1200. This church was located on the flat land along the shore of the lake Vangsmjøse, about 400 metres (1,300 ft) northwest of the present Øye Church. This location was problematic over the years. The land was somewhat boggy and the nearby river Rødøla would flood almost every spring and this led to grave sites being disturbed (legend says the coffins would sometimes float to the surface during the flooding). By the 1660s, the church was said to be in poor condition. In 1747, the old church was torn down and a new Øye Church was built about 400 metres (1,300 ft) to the southeast of the old site.[3][4][5][6]

In 1935, the new Øye Church was being renovated and part of the foundation wall was removed. Under the floor, workers found 156 pieces of the old stave church that had been salvaged after the demolition of the old stave church in 1747. The pieces included some of the staves, foundation pillars, framing, and decorative pieces. No one knew they were there and no one knew why they were saved there. After this discovery, the materials were saved and plans were made to reconstruct the old stave church. The architect Ole Øvergaard designed a reconstruction proposal for the church in 1950. The plans called for using many of the parts discovered in 1935 as well as some parts from the Heddal Stave Church as well as some new materials. The parish decided to build the reconstruction about 100 metres (330 ft) north of the present Øye Church (since the old church site was still not suited for building). The construction was completed and the church was consecrated on 1 August 1965 by the Bishop Alexander Lange Johnson. Historic artifacts include a medieval doorbell, a crucifix from the 13th century with a figure of Christ and a wooden baptismal font from the 1300s.[4][5][7][6]

## Media gallery

[edit]

*   *   *   *   * Round wooden baptismal font

## See also

[edit]

* List of churches in Hamar

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Øye stavkyrkje". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
2. ^ "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
3. ^ "Øye middelalderske kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
4. ^ a b "Øye stavkirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 January 2022.
5. ^ a b Christie, Sigrid; Storsletten, Ola; Hoff, Anna Marte. "Øye stavkirke" (in Norwegian). Norges Kirker. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
6. ^ a b Anker, Leif, ed. (24 August 2021). "Øye stavkirke". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
7. ^ "Øye stavkirke". Visit Valdres. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.

## Related reading

[edit]

* Anker, Leif (2005). The Norwegian Stave Churches. Oslo: Arfo Forlag. ISBN 978-8291399294.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Øye stavkirke.

* Øye Stave Church at Stavkirke.org (in Norwegian)

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Church of Norway churches in the Valdres prosti in Innlandet county, Norway

* Etnedal Municipality:
* Bruflat
* Nord-Etnedal
* Nord-Aurdal Municipality:
* Aurdal
* Skrautvål
* Strand
* Tingnes
* Tisleidalen
* Ulnes

* Sør-Aurdal Municipality:
* Bagn
* Begnadalen
* Hedalen Stave
* Leirskogen
* Reinli Stave
* Reinli

* Vang Municipality:
* Heensåsen
* Høre
* Vang
* Øye
* Øye Stave
* St Thomas

* Vestre Slidre Municipality:
* Lomen
* Lomen Stave
* Røn
* Øyjar
* Vestre Slidre
* Øystre Slidre Municipality:
* Hegge
* Lidar
* Rogne
* Volbu

* v
* t
* e

Stave churches

Old Norwegian churches|

* Borgund Stave Church
* Eidsborg Stave Church
* Flesberg Stave Church
* Garmo Stave Church
* Gol Stave Church
* Grip Stave Church
* Haltdalen Stave Church
* Hedalen Stave Church
* Heddal Stave Church
* Hegge Stave Church
* Hopperstad Stave Church
* Høre Stave Church
* Høyjord Stave Church
* Kaupanger Stave Church
* Kvernes Stave Church
* Lomen Stave Church
* Lom Stave Church
* Nore Stave Church
* Øye Stave Church
* Reinli Stave Church
* Ringebu Stave Church
* Rollag Stave Church
* Rødven Stave Church
* Røldal Stave Church
* Torpo Stave Church
* Undredal Stave Church
* Urnes Stave Church
* Uvdal Stave Church

Other notable churches|

* Vang Stave Church
* Hedared stave church
* Greensted Church
* Skaga stave church
* Gustav Adolf Stave Church
* Fantoft Stave Church
* Fåvang Stave Church
* Chapel in the Hills

List of|

* stave churches in Norway
* later stave churches and replicas
* archaeological sites and dismantled stave churches

Related|

* Architecture of Norway
* Vernacular
* Black metal-related church arson
* by Varg Vikernes
* Heathen hof
* Medieval Scandinavian architecture

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