Ørskog Church


Ørskog Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Sjøholt. It is the church for the Ørskog parish which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1873 by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 600 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1325, but the stave church was not new then. In 1640, the church was described as being dilapidated and inappropriately small. In 1642, a new rectangular church was constructed on the same site, very likely another stave church. In the early 1700s, the church was renovated and cross arms were built so that the floorplan was then cruciform. In 1806, a new church was completed, just to the north of the old church and the old church was torn down. The new church was a timber-framed octagonal building, but it was soon deemed to be too small. Then in 1872, the church was sold for 750 Speciedalers to the nearby Herøy Parish and moved to the village of Leikong, where it is known as Leikanger Church. A new Ørskog Church was built in 1873 to replace the old one that was moved. This new church was consecrated on 6 November 1873 and is still in use.