Gildeskål Church

This 12th century medieval stone church can look back on a long history full of social gatherings, myths and tragedies. Built in about 1150 a.d. (approximately 150 years after the Christianisation in whole Norway), it is a part of Bodø’s “Nordlandsmuseet”, where qualified staff give tours for interested visitors through the church and the surrounding landscape. With their courage, they help the church stay a cultural heritage which must be retained throughout the centuries. 

The word “Gildeskål“ in earlier times was translated as „festivity-house“, because people all around the county came together (as a duty of any true believer) in these rare occasions. Here, men and women were allowed to sit together in the upper benches in the back, where they eventually might find a potential future marriage partner. Nevertheless, even in the house of god not every person was considered to be equal. People of different social ranks used different entries into the building. The average man used an ordinary door in the back, whereas wealthy citizens used an extra entry with roofing, where they could / were supposed to leave their weapons during church service. Especially those wooden boxes are noticeable, here were the noble ones situated, the family of the pastor (living in a house nearby) as well as landlords and the altar boys. In the back, you can find two boxes: one for baptizing, and one for a loyal church-visitor, whose portrait can be seen nowadays inside this box. After his death (probably a great loss for the parish), his coffin was buried beneath his former seating place to worship his position in the church, and only a guarding policeman was allowed to take his place.  In the front of the church, you can also find the “church boat” (very common in Norway) hanging from the ceiling, symbolically demonstrating that “we are all sitting in the same boat”, albeit not being the case. Coming to church as an obligation doesn’t mean that everyone came voluntarily, and there had been reserved (and uncomfortable) benches for Sami and Beiarn-people. The poorest ones (often meaning: not owning a farm) had to cower on steps near the ground.

There are also some architectonic details that shouldn’t be forgotten. The used marble is a rare one, coming directly from the region. Furthermore, a huge picture thematises the Christian revelation: all the world’s kings are heading towards the one and only Lord. This picture was found in a barn outside of Tromø due to the fact that people feared the church could be bombed during the 2^nd World War and therefore protected important art pieces. In the church, you can find old and new art (such as from Gottfried Ezechiel), because of a huge fire in the year 1711. The whole interior burned down, so everything had to be renewed. The groundplan’s original size was extended to an “L”-form. This year, the organ has its 150 years anniversary. The benches, boxes and ornaments had been reconstructed as they did look like in earlier times, not representing the current “fashion”. So the interior is one from the Baroque era, but the altar is kept pretty plain and simple. The saying on the colourful carpet from around 1450 can be translated to “Pray for us, St. Thomas” and might be traced back to holy Thomas Becket (archbishop of Canterbury), who was killed in 1170. His story spread around whole Europe, and he later on became saint of the fishermen. The interesting story behind this man is explained online, e.g. on http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/becket.htm (01.12.2015).