Aukra Church


Aukra Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Aukra Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Aukrasanden on the southeast coast of the island of Gossa. It is the church for the Aukra parish which is part of the Molde domprosti in the Diocese of Møre. The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal style in 1835 by an unknown architect. The church seats about 250 people.

History

There has been a church here on Gossa island for centuries. The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1495, but the church was already existing at that time. The first church on the island was probably a stave church that was constructed in the 1430s. In 1648, the old church was rebuilt, saving only the old choir of the stave church. Upon completion, the church was a timber-framed cruciform building. In 1663, the old choir part of the church was torn down and replaced.
In 1709, the church was destroyed by fire after a lightning strike. In 1712, a new cruciform church was completed replacing the previous one. About 60 years later, in 1772, that building was also struck by lightning and then burning to the ground. In 1774, sadly, the same thing happened again with the newly rebuilt church also being burned down by lightning. Another replacement church was built after that, and it too was burned down in 1834. The present church was built in 1835 and it is still standing.