Location Odda, Hordaland Denomination Church of Norway Consecrated 4 Nov 1870 Opened 1870 Status Parish church | Country Norway Churchmanship Evangelical Lutheran Functional status Active Capacity 500 | |
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Diocese Lutheran Diocese of Bjørgvin Similar Skare Church, Tyssedal Church, Norheimsund Church, Ålvik Church, Øystese Church | ||
Odda Church (Norwegian: Odda kyrkje) is a parish church in Odda municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Odda. The church is part of the Odda parish in the Hardanger og Voss deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in 1870 by the architect C. Erichsen to replace an older church on the same site. The church, which seats about 500 people, was consecrated on 4 November 1870 by the Bishop Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland.
History
The first church in Odda was probably a stone church that was built slightly to the north of the present site. That first church was built between the years 1250 and 1300. There may have been a wooden church on the site before that time, but that is not known. The stone church, which stood for about 600 years was torn down in 1870 to make room for the new, larger, wooden church. By the early 20th century, the graveyard surrounding the church was getting full, so a new cemetery site was chosen in 1930, at Berjaflot about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the south. In 1955, the church was renovated extensively.