Mo Church (Møre og Romsdal)


Mo Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Surnadal Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Mo in the upper Surnadalen valley. It is the church for the Mo parish which is part of the Indre Nordmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre. The red, wooden church was built in the rare Y-shaped style in 1728 by the architect Erik Jakobsen Holten. The church seats about 205 people.
The church is one of the five existing Y-shaped churches in Norway.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1589 when a stave church was located on the site. It is not known when that building was constructed. Possible burial mounds from the Viking Age dating back to around 1000 are located near the church. An addition was added to the building in 1648. A few years later, another addition added to the size of the building. In 1703, a new sacristy was built on the east side of the building. In 1727, the building was deemed to be in need of replacement. It was torn down that year and replaced with the present Y-shaped building on the same site in 1728.