Åsnes Finnskog Church

Åsnes Finnskog Church (Norwegian: Åsnes Finnskog kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vermundsjøen in the Finnskogen area. It is the church for the Åsnes Finnskog parish which is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1861 using plans drawn up by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 250 people.^[1][2]

Åsnes Finnskog Church
Åsnes Finnskog kirke
View of the church
60°42′14″N 12°22′46″E
Location	Åsnes Municipality, Innlandet
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Former name(s)	Gretviken kirke
Status	Parish church
Founded	1807
Consecrated	1861
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Jacob Wilhelm Nordan
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1861 (164 years ago) (1861)
Specifications
Capacity	250
Materials	Wood
Administration
Diocese	Hamar bispedømme
Deanery	Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti
Parish	Åsnes Finnskog
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Not protected
ID	86000

History

Around the year 1807, a chapel house named Prekenstua was used for church activities in the Finnskogen area of Åsnes. This house stood at Vermundsberget, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the present church site. This was a temporary solution, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s when the large Hof Church parish was divided into three parishes, and the new Åsnes Church parish included this area in the Finnskogen forest. A new church was built at Gretviken to replace the old chapel house in 1861. The new church was designed by Jacob Wilhelm Nordan and it seated about 150 people. The new building was consecrated in 1861 and it was named Gretviken Church (later it was renamed Åsnes Finnskog Church). In 1911–1912, the church was renovated and enlarged using plans by Martin O. Bråten. The nave was enlarged to seat about 250 people. The church was re-consecrated in November 1912.^[3][4]

See also

• List of churches in Hamar

References

1. "Åsnes Finnskog kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
3. "Åsnes finnskog kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
4. "Åsnes Finnskog kirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 31 December 2021.