Loen Church


Loen Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Stryn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Loen. It is the church for the Loen parish which is part of the Nordfjord prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal style in 1838 by an unknown architect. The church seats about 190 people. The church was consecrated on 9 September 1838.
There are two stone pillars in the churchyard that memorialize the local residents who died in 1905 and 1936 when the rock slides from the mountain Ramnefjellet caused tsunamis which flooded many farms surrounding the lake Lovatnet.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1330, but the church was not new at that time. The first church in Loen, probably a stave church, was erected in the 13th century. It was replaced on the same site by a small timber-framed long church in the early 17th century. That church building stood for a number of years without a church tower, but in 1707 a tower was built and it was funded by private donations. This church was used until 1838 when the church was torn down. Later, a new church was built on the same site in 1838. This new building had an oblong, octagonal design with a rectangular choir in the east and a nearly square porch in the west.

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