Location Fitjar, Hordaland Denomination Church of Norway Functional status Active Address 5419 Fitjar, Norway Capacity 425 Status Parish church | Country Norway Churchmanship Evangelical Lutheran Completed 1867 Opened 1867 Phone +47 53 45 85 24 | |
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Diocese Lutheran Diocese of Bjørgvin Similar Lykling Church, Hatlestrand Church, Old Moster Church, Ænes Church, Reksteren Church | ||
Fitjar Church (Norwegian: Fitjar kyrkje) is a parish church in Fitjar municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fitjar. The church is part of the Fitjar parish in the Sunnhordland deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in 1867 and it seats about 425 people.
History
The first church at Fitjar was probably built in the middle ages, not long after the Old Moster Church was built since the two churches had similar designs. The medieval church was built of stone and it probably did not have a steeple. The main part of the church was approximately 14.4 by 10.7 metres (47 ft × 35 ft). Prior to 1862, Fitjar Church was an annex to the large parish of Stord. In 1862, Fitjar was split off to form its own parish. At that time, it was decided that the old church was too small for the new parish. In 1867, the old church was torn down and a larger wooden church was built. There were many items from the old church that were kept and are still used in the new church including the old altarpiece, some brass candlesticks, and the baptismal font.