Borgund Church


Borgund 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 Borgund, just east of the city of Ålesund. It is the church for the Borgund parish which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre. The historic, white, stone church was built in a cruciform style around the year 1300 by an unknown architect. The church reflects both Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. The church seats about 750 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of a church in Borgund date back to the 12th century. In fact, at one point, there may have been as many as four stone churches in Borgund. Records talk about the Margaretakyrkja, Kristkyrkja, Matteuskyrkja, and Peterskyrkja. It is believed that the St. Peter's Church was located on the site of the present-day Borgund Church, in fact some of the stone walls are believed to the original walls.
During the centuries, the church was renovated. Records show that in 1632 and again in 1864 the church was expanded and turned into a cruciform design. The altarpiece and pulpit were decorated in the baroque style during the 1600s as well.
The church was the seat of the large Borgund prestegjeld and later the main church for the large Borgund Municipality.
The church had a major fire and the building was almost completely destroyed on 13 April 1904 by an arsonist only described as "mentally disturbed" by the local police. The loss was tragic, but a new church was rapidly built within the remaining medieval walls using plans by the architects Christian Siegwart and Hans Siegwart. The church was consecrated on 7 August 1907. The pulpit and altar were carved from oak by local craftsmen. Additional wooden features were later added by artist Oddvin Parr. The church organ dates from 1981 to was built by Marcussen & Søn of Aabenraa, Denmark.

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