Hornnes Church


Hornnes Church is a parish church in Evje og Hornnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hornnes. The church is part of the Hornnes parish in the Otredal deanery in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal style in 1828 using plans by the architect Lars Larsen Forsæth. The church seats about 300 people. It was consecrated on 22 June 1828 by the local dean from Evje Church. It was built by Leg Askildsen Hallingskaar, a builder from Laudal. He carved his name into the baptismal font which he gifted to the church.

History

The first church in Hornnes was a stave church probably from the 13th century. The present church was built in 1828 near the previous church which was torn down in 1828. That church was painted red and was likely located where the road is located today. There is an old clay baptismal font in the church that dates back to Catholic times, but it hasn't been used in over 400 years. After the present church was built, there was some unhappiness with the roofline and steeple, so Anders Thorsen Syrtveit was hired to rebuild the those parts of the church. This church was used as a model church, and after it was built, there were ten more octagonal churches built in the Setesdalen valley and inner parts of Agder.