Location Grue Functional status Active Capacity 500 Deanery Solør | Country Norway Churchmanship Evangelical Lutheran Completed 1825 Opened 1825 | |
 | ||
Grue Church (Norwegian: Grue kirke) is a long church (Norwegian: langkirke) dating from 1825 in Grue in Hedmark county, Norway.
Contents
Structure and history
The church is built of stone and can accommodate 500 people. It has massive dimensions; it measures 47 by 18 meters (154 ft × 59 ft) and the walls are 1.26 meters (4.1 ft) thick. The church has a very simple outer form, composed of a tower and a nave with basic geometric shapes. The plans for the church were largely the work of the architect Hans Linstow, assisted by Ole Peter Riis Høegh, and it was the first Gothic Revival structure in Norway. The cornerstone for the new church was laid in September 1827. The church was consecrated on September 28, 1828 by Bishop Christian Sørenssen.
The old church
The old Grue Church stood further to the north of the Grue rectory. It was threatened by erosion from the Glomma River, which carried away large amounts of soil near the church every year. On May 17, 1794 permission was given for the church to be relocated to the municipal subdivision of Vollermoen and for it to be built in stone. However, this permit was never used. The church was first relocated after the Grue Church fire on Pentecost, May 26, 1822, in which at least 113 people died. The old church was a cruciform stave church partially constructed with dovetail joints. During the Catholic era, the church was dedicated to John the Baptist.