Location Værøy, Nordland Denomination Church of Norway Consecrated 1746 Opened 1746 Diocese Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland | Country Norway Churchmanship Evangelical Lutheran Events Moved to Værøy in 1790 Status Parish church Parish Værøy | |
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Similar Værøy Church, Røst Church, Reine Church, Digermulen Church, Old Gildeskål Church | ||
Old Værøy Church (Norwegian: Værøy gamle kirke) is a parish church in the municipality of Værøy in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Nordland. The church is part of the Værøy parish in the Bodø deanery in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The red, wooden church was built in Kabelvåg in 1746 and it was moved to the island of Værøy in 1799. It is the oldest church in Lofoten that is still in use. It has worship service every fourth Sunday.
History
The village of Nordland on the island of Værøy has probably had a church since the 15th century. The previous church on the island was destroyed by strong winds during a storm in 1790.
Rather than building a replacement, another church building (built in 1746) from nearby Kabelvåg was moved to Værøy in 1799. Some furniture from the old church still exists in today's church. They chose to move the church from Kabelvåg because that church was too small for the Kabelvåg congregation, so they were going to build a new, larger church there.
In 1939, Værøy Church was built in Sørland on the south side of the island, where most of the residents lived. The new church became the main church for the parish, although the old church is still used regularly.