Øye Church


Øye Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Surnadal Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located between the two villages of Sylte and Skei. It is one of the two churches for the Øye og Ranes parish which is part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1871 by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 300 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1589. There has been an "Øye Church" in the Sylte-Skei area for a long time. An Øye Church existed before 1589 when it was transferred administratively to the parish of Stangvik. In 1699, a new Surnadal parish was created and Øye Church was included in that new parish. In 1724, a new church was built to replace the old building. In 1855, the private owners of the church sold the building to the local congregation. A long deliberation began among the villagers to decide what to do with the church. In 1871, the present church building was completed on the same site.